The series between the Muskies and Spartans has been a largely competitive one since the teams' first meeting in 2001. Aurora has been on a run of late, though, winning the last five times the teams have met, including twice last year. The Spartans posted a 3-0 sweep at home in the regular season Oct. 5, 2024, and then just over a month later swept Lakeland again in the first round of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament. The Spartans also won the last time the teams met here at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium, prevailing 25-23, 25-19, 25-21 in 2023. Lakeland's last win over the Spartans was a four-set victory at home Oct. 5, 2019, a win that snapped Aurora's 17-match Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference winning streak. In the all-time series, Lakeland won the first two meetings and eight of the first ten before Aurora won seven of the next ten matchups, including four in a row from 2016-18.

Lakeland last time out: Lost at St. Norbert 3-2 Thursday
The Muskies pushed one of the NACC's top teams on the road, winning the second and fourth sets but ultimately falling 25-14, 21-25, 25-19, 20-25, 15-9. Lakeland battled despite posting one of its lower hitting percentages of the season (.114), countering with a season-high 11 blocks and leading 6-4 in the third set before the Green Knights turned it around with seven straight points. Samya Hughes finished with 15 kills, Maleigha Kovalaske totaled 13 kills and Faith Baker and Caitlyn Pernsteiner added nine kills each. Baker also added a career-best seven blocks and Hughes and Kovalaske also added 21 and 18 digs, respectively. Sydney Gay also tallied 45 assists, adding to her career total after she reached 1,000 career digs this past Saturday against Elmhurst.

Aurora last time out: Won at Rockford 3-0 Thursday
The Spartans breezed through a sweep of the Regents, winning 25-6, 25-8, 25-16 on the road. Aurora's Katelyn Ruse nearly outhit Rockford all by herself, finishing with 10 kills while the Regents totaled just 13 kills as a team for the match. Aurora hit .321 for the match while the hosts posted a -.065 hitting percentage. Katie Brisk added 18 digs and four service aces and Carolyn Lippe added 17 digs for the Spartans.

Aurora finished 19-13 overall last year and 11-2 in the NACC, tying for second in the league, just one win behind regular season and tournament champion Edgewood. The Spartans have won seven NACC regular season crowns and four conference tourney titles, and tied for the regular season title just two years ago.