Its a battle for position in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference standings when the Lakeland University women's volleyball team hosts Illinois Institute of Technology Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.
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The Muskies and Scarlet Hawks meet for the seventh time as conference foes since Illinois Tech joined the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference in 2018. Lakeland is looking for a better showing on its homecourt against Illinois Tech than a year ago, when the Scarlet Hawks won 22-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-23 at the Woltzen Gymnasium behind 14 kills each by Ana Jones and Karla Trautmann Mendez. Lakeland had won 7 of the previous 8 meetings between the teams, including a 25-18, 25-23, 22-25, 25-13 win in 2023. While the Muskies have won most of late in the series, IIT has won the last two meetings at Lakeland, also posting a sweep Oct. 23, 2021.
Lakeland last time out: Defeated Dominican 3-0 Saturday
The Muskies picked up a victory on Homecoming, sweeping the Stars 25-10, 25-21, 25-9.
Maleigha Kovalaske was dominant with 17 kills and
Samya Hughes added 15 kills, and both on their own bettered Dominican's team total of 14 kills for the match. Lakeland attacked at a .305 rate, its fourth time hitting at least .300 this season and third time in four matches.
Sydney Gay also finished with 31 assists and 10 digs and
Ryan Figi posted eight digs. The win extended the Muskies' season-best winning streak to four matches, and Lakeland continues to work its way up the NACC standings after losing its first three conference matches, all to traditional frontrunners in the league.
Illinois Tech last time out: Defeated Andrews (Mich.) 3-0 Tuesday
The Scarlet Hawks cruised to a 25-14, 25-18, 25-8 win over the Cardinals in a non-conference match Tuesday at home, winning for the sixth time in their last seven matches. Ana Jones totaled 11 kills, Karla Leonte added 10 kills on 11 attacks, and IIT piled up 14 service aces, including four from Olivia McMath. Tech defeated Andrews for the second time this season, having also posted a three-set win over the USCAA member school in September.
Like Lakeland, Illinois Tech has warmed up in NACC play after struggling out of conference and early in conference play against a tough schedule. The Scarlet Hawks are one-half game behind the Muskies in the NACC standings and last year finished 15-15 overall and 7-6 in conference, falling in the conference tournament quarterfinals.
