Box Score 1 | Box Score 3 PLYMOUTH, Wis. – Ben Busalacchi (Sr.-Muskego, Wis.) set a new Lakeland University men's volleyball varsity standard for career kills and the Muskies split two matches in a home triangular held Friday at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.

The Muskies swept Maranatha Baptist University 25-14, 25-13, 25-7 in their first match of the day before dropping a hard-fought three-set match to Trine (Ind.) University 31-29, 25-21, 25-19. Trine also defeated Maranatha Baptist 25-6, 25-17, 25-15 in the middle match of the day to finish 2-0 on the day.

Busalacchi entered the day needing seven kills to tie and eight kills to break the Lakeland varsity record of 895 career kills set by Matt Stolz from 2014-17. After playing only the first set and picking up two kills in the Muskies' easy opening win over Maranatha Baptist (0-2 overall), he tied the mark in the second set against Trine and broke it in the third set with his sixth kill of the match and 896th career kill overall.

The Muskies (2-3 overall) spent almost all of the final two sets chasing and unable to catch Trine, though, a disappointing capper on a match that started out well against a team that qualified for the NCAA Division III Tournament last year. Lakeland led most of the first set and held an 18-13 lead late in the set and was still ahead 22-19, just three points from taking the set when the Thunder (2-4 overall) scored three straight points to tie at 22-22.

The teams then went back-and-forth in fighting off set points, including the Muskies holding set point on four occasions, the last time at 28-27 after a kill by Eli Weinrich (Jr.-Mequon, Wis.). Trine responded with a kill and a block to reach its second match point, and after a service error the Thunder finally closed it out with a kill by Karl Both and a block by Seth McDonald and Ryan McDonald to end Lakeland's longest set since a 32-30 win over Wabash (Ind.) College last year.

Lakeland was close for most of the final two sets, trailing just 21-19 late in the second set and 16-13 in the third. Trine would hold onto the second by siding out at an 81% rate for the set, and pulled away in the third with a five-point run late, with a kill from Ty Freeman giving the guests a 21-13 lead.

Lakeland received a breakout performance from Sage Xiong (Erie, Colo.) in the second match, as the freshman led the team with a season-high 12 kills. Jakob Donohue (Jr.-Milwaukee, Wis.) also added eight kills and Busalacchi finished with seven kills. Busalacchi also totaled four service aces, Levi Everts (Sr.-Hartford, Wis.) finished with 13 digs and Chase Anderson (Jr.-Hartford, Wis.) totaled 33 assists plus a team-high four block assists.

The Muskies dominated their opening match against Maranatha Baptist, never trailing in any set and only tied once briefly at 1-1 in the third set. Lakeland opened the match with five straight points, including four consecutive service aces by Anderson, and 15 different players saw action in the win.

Joe Bieganski (Fr.-Hartford, Wis.) posted eight kills and a .538 hitting percentage and Weinrich added seven kills plus a career-high six service aces, tied for the third-most in a match in the program's 12-year varsity history. Anderson added 12 assists and five aces and Lakeland as a team piled up 22 aces, one short of the school record of 23 aces set against Wisconsin Lutheran College Feb. 25, 2021.

Jonah Brunner (Fr.-Cross Plains, Wis.) added 10 assists and Drake Schleihs (Sr.-Appleton, Wis.) posted seven digs.

In the second match between the two visiting teams, Trine dominated from the start, jumping out to a 17-0 lead in the first set. The Thunder had 13 players record kills, including Ryan Ford tallying a team-high seven kills in just one set off the bench.

Lakeland is on the road for its next match Tuesday when it travels to face North Park (Ill.) University in Chicago at 7 p.m.