The series between the Muskies and Scarlet Hawks has tightened in recent years. Lakeland won the first four meetings all-time but Illinois Institute of Technology has won the last three, including a four-set win by a score of 25-11, 21-25, 25-17, 25-18 in their last matchup almost a year ago on Feb. 27, 2024 in Chicago. Illinois Tech also won meetings in 2023 and 2022, the latter a four-set win in the most recent match at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium. It has now been a while since the Muskies defeated IIT, as the teams went without playing for three years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lakeland's last win over Illinois Tech was a 25-20, 25-15, 25-21 sweeep April 6, 2019. The Muskies won the teams' first-ever meeting with a three-set sweep at home Jan. 15, 2016 in what was also the Scarlet Hawks' first match as a varsity program.

Lakeland last time out: Defeated Westminster (Mo.) 3-1 Friday
The Muskies won their second straight match and got back to the .500 mark for the season with a 25-16, 25-22, 23-25, 25-15 win over the Blue Jays. Lakeland won the first-ever meeting between the teams by hitting a strong .281 for the match, including .391 in the first set and then .435 in the fourth and final set. Ben Busalacchi totaled 17 kills plus eight digs and four blocks and Levi Everts finished with 12 kills, 14 digs and three blocks. Sage Xiong also added eight kills and 13 digs and Jordan Davis-Troller finished with four kills and four blocks as the Muskies set a season high with 11 blocks.

Lakeland concluded its non-conference schedule with a 6-6 record, a mark that includes three losses to teams ranked in the top 15 nationally in NCAA Division III. The six wins are the Muskies' most in non-conference play since 2019, also the last time Lakeland posted a winning overall record when it finished 14-13 overall and 7-9 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. The Muskies are also the last NACC team to begin conference play this year, with every other team entering Sunday having played 1-4 league matches already.

Illinois Tech last time out: Defeated Concordia Wisconsin 3-2 yesterday
The Scarlet Hawks earned their first NACC win of the season, outlasting the Falcons 27-29, 25-16, 25-19, 23-25, 15-11. Illinois Tech recovered from a 3-0 deficit to start the deciding fifth set, scoring five straight points later in the set to gain the upper hand. Riley Laite finished with 22 kills, 13 digs and six service aces, Maximo Dowling totaled 14 kills and Elijah Johnson added 45 assists, seven digs and three service aces.

About the Scarlet Hawks: The win was just the third this season for IIT, but it also was the third win in the team's last four matches. Illinois Tech also has a win in five sets over the same Westminster team that Lakeland just defeated, and its losses include one in five sets to nationally ranked North Central (Ill.). The Scarlet Hawks last year finished 12-15 overall and posted a 7-5 mark in the NACC, and as the No. 6 seed surprised third-seeded Benedictine in five sets in the NACC Tournament quarterfinals before falling to No. 2 seed Aurora in the semifinals.