The Muskies have dominated the series with the Regents with one exception. Lakeland has won 14 straight over Rockford, including a 25-19, 25-18, 25-13 victory on the road last year on Oct. 11, 2025. Samya Hughes finished with 16 kills and Maleigha Kovalaske added 12 kills. Lakeland also swept the teams' last matchup at the Woltzen Gymnasium on Oct. 26, 2024. Rockford's lone win in the series came Oct. 2, 2010, when it pulled out a five-set win at home. The teams first met Sept. 25, 1997, with the Muskies winning in four, and then did not meet again until Oct. 6, 2006, when both were members of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference.

Lakeland last time out: Won at Marian 3-1 Thursday
The Muskies got off to a slow start but took over after the first set and defeated the Sabres 20-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-15. Lakeland hit a solid .277 for the match, including  .344 over the final three sets in defeating Marian for the 11th straight time in the series. Kovalaske finished with team highs of 17 kills and 13 digs, Emily R. Hansen added 11 kills and Faith Baker also posted seven kills and four blocks. Sydney Gay also paced the setters with 29 assists.

Kovalaske has been one of the top hitters in the NACC this year, ranking second in the conference in both total kills (227) and kills per set (3.55). The Muskies as a team also rank second in the conference in hitting percentage at .187, behind only Aurora's .259 mark. Ryan Figi also ranks second in the NACC in total digs with 275 on the season, and the senior libero also is fourth in the conference in digs/set (4.30).

Rockford last time out: Defeated Dominican 3-1 Thursday
The Regents were in control in three of the four sets, only dropping a down-to-the-wire second set before defeating the Stars 25-10, 25-27, 25-15, 25-18. Rockford hit .226 for the match led by Ashley Mersch with 12 kills. Just as notably, the Regents held Domincan to a -.016 hitting mark with 32 kills and 34 errors, including 11 team blocks by the hosts. Emmerson Heun finished with nine blocks (one solo, eight assisted) and Kennedy Bryant added five block assists. Rockford also served up 14 aces, including five by Jalyn Rhodes and four by Carlie Buetsch.

The Regents won their second straight match this week, having also topped Alverno in four sets Tuesday night. Rockford already has nearly topped its win total from last season when it finished 6-17 overall in the first season under coach Zach Rothstein.