PLYMOUTH, Wis. –Lakeland University came out strong at the start but Benedictine University rallied after to defeat the Muskies in four sets in the teams' Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference men's volleyball match Saturday afternoon at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.

The Eagles came back for a 22-25, 25-17, 25-16, 25-21 win in a hard-fought match. Lakeland continued to be close but short of getting over the hump in its conference matches, winning at least one set for the fourth time in five NACC matches but dropping to 6-11 overall and 0-5 in conference.

The Muskies got a good jump on the Eagles (10-6 overall, 5-0 NACC) in the opening set, building a seven-point lead at 16-9 after a kill by Ben Busalacchi (Sr.-Muskego, Wis.). Benedictine battled back, though, and was within 19-17 after a kill by Trace Samaras, but Lakeland would stay a step ahead of the Eagles the rest of the set. The Eagles got as close as 23-22 late, but a kill by Levi Everts (Sr.-Hartford, Wis.) and a block by Sage Xiong (Fr.-Erie, Colo.) and Jordan Davis-Troller (Jr.-Cottage Grove, Wis.) finished out the set.

Benedictine would bolt out to a 6-0 lead to start the second set and would play from in front most of the second and third sets. The Muskies would battle in both, getting back to an 8-8 tie in the second set and trailing just 14-12 midway through both sets, but the Eagles went on runs in both sets to take the 2-1 match lead.

Lakeland made a run at extending the match to a deciding set as the fourth set was the closest, with the teams combining for five lead changes and 10 ties, the last at 16-16 after a kill by Davis-Troller. Benedictine scored three straight points late, though, taking a 22-18 lead from which the Muskies would not recover. The Eagles also finished the match with 15 team blocks, and registered two in the late going, including one from Eoin O'Toole and Chris Radomski on the first match point.

Everts led Lakeland with 12 kills and Busalacchi added 10 kills, and with his fifth kill of the match became the first player in the Muskies' varsity program history to reach 1,000 career kills. Jakob Donohue (Jr.-Milwaukee, Wis.) also finished with nine kills and Davis-Troller added eight kills.

Chase Anderson (Jr.-Hartford, Wis.) also posted 39 assists and Busalacchi paced Lakeland with 11 digs. The Muskies hit .096 as a team with 47 kills but also 33 errors, and also recorded just two service aces and three blocks.

Cooper Armstrong led Benedictine with 15 kills and added 11 digs. Trace Samaras also posted nine kills off the bench, and O'Toole finished with six kills plus eight blocks (one solo, seven assisted). Spencer VanEngen also totaled 34 assists, 11 digs, six kills and seven blocks (one solo, six assisted).

Lakeland is home again Tuesday when it takes on Concordia University Wisconsin at 6 p.m. at the Woltzen Gym.