#17 UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs (7-5 overall)
at Lakeland University Muskies (4-4 overall)
Friday, Feb. 7, 2025 11 a.m.
Woltzen Gymnasium
Lakeland/UC Santa Cruz Match Notes PDF
The Lakeland University men's volleyball team hosts the University of California Santa Cruz for another renewal of the teams' frequently played non-conference series, with the teams meeting Friday at 11 a.m. at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.
Broadcast Information:
Live video:
http://www.lakelandmuskies.com/muskieslive
Live statistics:
http://static.lakelandmuskies.com/custompages/stats/mvb/LS/xlive.htm
Series history: 12th meeting, UC Santa Cruz leads 11-0
Though separated by 2,250 miles, Lakeland and UC Santa Cruz have played regularly in the Muskies' 12 years as a varsity program, to the point where the Banana Slugs are one of Lakeland's most-played opponents. The teams are meeting for the sixth straight season and the fourth time in five years at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium. Last year the teams played March 27, 2024, with a 13th-ranked UC Santa Cruz team prevailing 25-19, 25-18, 25-19 in a match that at least early was closer than the final set totals, with the teams combining for 19 ties and six lead changes in the first two sets.
The Banana Slugs have won in sweeps in eight of the teams' first 11 meetings, with Lakeland taking one set off UCSC in 2016, 2021 and 2023. Of those meetings, five have been played at Lakeland, four on neutral courts and three in Santa Cruz. The teams' first-ever meeting came Feb. 21, 2015 in Kenosha in a triangular hosted by Carthage, where Santa Cruz posted a 3-0 sweep.
Lakeland last time out: Won at Olivet (Mich.) 3-1 Sunday
The Muskies played their second match in less than 24 hours in Michigan and defeated the Comets 25-18, 24-26, 27-25, 25-13 on Sunday afternoon to cap a brief two-day road trip. Lakeland dominated the first and fourth sets and earned a split of close sets in the second and third that included a combined 25 ties and eight lead changes, with both sets going past 25 points.
Ben Busalacchi finished with nine kills, one of seven Lakeland players with at least five kills.
Jordan Davis-Troller added eight kills,
Chase Anderson finished with five kills plus 42 assists and
Eli Weinrich added nine digs. The Muskies bounced back from a five-set loss at Calvin (Mich.) the night before, a match decided by a 15-13 final set.
UC Santa Cruz last time out: Defeated MSOE 3-1; Lost to #11 St. John Fisher (N.Y.) 3-2 Jan. 26
The Banana Slugs have been idle for nearly two weeks since a trip to Ohio for a tourney hosted by Baldwin Wallace University. UC Santa Cruz finished 1-2 over two days, including a loss to the nationally ranked host school in four sets on Saturday, a win over Lakeland's Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference rival MSOE on Sunday and then a tough five-set loss to 11th-ranked St. John Fisher in a fifth set that included 13 ties and six lead changes. Riley Norman led the Banana Slugs with 20 kills and Dylan Foreman added 16 kills in that match.
The Banana Slugs-named after, per the school, "a bright yellow, slimy, shell-less mollusk commonly found on the redwood forest floor"-are on their second of three Midwest trips this season. UC Santa Cruz is one of just two NCAA Division III members in California, and along with Cal Lutheran the two are the only Division III men's volleyball programs in the Mountain and Pacific time zones. The team regularly has to travel and the slate frequently includes trips across the country with some creative scheduling. That includes Friday, where after the match with the Muskies the team will travel down one hour south to Mequon and will take on Concordia University Wisconsin at 7 p.m. Friday night.
