OSHKOSH, Wis. – The Lakeland University women's volleyball team built a 2-0 lead in the match but the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point came all the way back to win in five sets, part of a 0-2 night for the Muskies against Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponents Wednesday.
The Muskies fell to the Pointers 27-29, 20-25, 25-21, 25-18, 15-12 and then were defeated by the top-ranked and defending NCAA Division III national champion UW-Oshkosh 25-23, 25-20, 25-16. Lakeland dropped to 4-3 on the season.
Lakeland was on the doorstep of its first win over UW-Stevens Point since 2003, but instead left with a five-set loss to the Pointers for the second straight season. The Muskies won the first set a year ago and held a 2-1 lead in the match before UWSP (2-3 overall) rallied, and this time started strong in the first two sets before Stevens Point came back.
Lakeland rallied from 15-9 down in the first set to win, and then pulled away late in a close second set, outscoring the Pointers 7-2 down the stretch. UWSP never trailed in the third and fourth sets, though, setting up a fifth set that included five ties and two lead changes.
UW-Stevens Point led 12-9 before the Muskies scored three straight points to tie, including kills from
Emily R. Hansen (
Jr.-Mayville, Wis.) and
Faith Baker (
Jr.-Verona, Ill.). The Pointers scored the final three points, though, including a kill by Carly Thomka, a Lakeland attack error and a block by Ella Trieloff on match point to win it.
Maleigha Kovalaske (
Jr.-Ripon, Wis.) led the Muskies with 18 kills, Hansen totaled 13 kills and
Samya Hughes (
So.-Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) added 11 kills.
Ryan Figi (
Sr.-Hartland, Wis.) totaled 16 digs,
Katie Westerholm (
Fr.-Prior Lake, Minn.) and
Sydney Gay (
Jr.-Rice Lake, Wis.) combined for 49 assists and both Kovalaske (14 digs) and Westerholm (12 digs) posted double-doubles.
Lakeland hit .156 as a team for the match with 62 kills and 34 errors, but cooled off after the first two sets. The Muskies hit .293 over the first two sets with 31 kills to just nine errors, but attacked at just a .057 rate over the last three sets.
Lakeland faced a tall task in the second match against the defending national champions, but pushed UW-Oshkosh (6-0 overall) especially in the first two sets.
The Muskies came back from down 21-15 late to tie at 23-23 on a kill by Hansen before the Titans scored the final two points of the set. The second set included 14 ties and three lead changes, and Lakeland led 20-19 after an Oshkosh service error until the hosts closed the set scoring the final six points.
Kovalaske finished with 13 kills in the match,
Emily J. Hansen (
Sr.-Kaukauna, Wis.) totaled 16 assists plus eight digs and Figi added 14 digs. The Muskies hit .210 with 35 kills to just 13 errors, but UWO was even better at .286 with 47 kills to 15 errors.
Lakeland is in action Friday and Saturday at the St. Norbert College Chick-fil-A Invitational, playing three matches over two days. The Muskies open on Friday against Westminster (Mo.) College at 3 p.m. and face St. Mary's (Minn.) University at 5:30 p.m.
