FOND DU LAC, Wis. (WLCSports.com) - Wisconsin Lutheran College survived its second straight five-set match on Tuesday, defeating Marian 3-2 at Sadoff Gymnasium.
The Warriors (7-5, 4-1 NACC), who won their fourth straight match and second consecutive in five sets, defeated the Sabres (5-16, 2-3 NACC) for the seventh straight time by scores of 25-15, 23-25, 26-24, 23-25, 15-11.
After four early ties and a lead change, WLC went on a 9-1 run to turn a five-point advantage into a 24-11 cushion en route to winning the opening set 25-15. Wisconsin Lutheran erased a 17-15 deficit in the second set to jump ahead 19-17, but six straight points from MU gave them a 23-19 lead. The visitors fought back to knot the set at 23 apiece but Marian scored the final two points for a 25-23 win.
The Warriors trailed 5-1 early in the third set, but came back to take a 14-9 lead. Following seven ties, WLC fought off set point and scored three in a row to take a 2-1 lead in the match with a 26-24 win. Wisconsin Lutheran held a pair of three-point leads late in the fourth set, before the Sabres out-scored the Warriors 8-3 to even the match with a 25-23 win.
In the fifth set, MU jumped out to a 4-1 lead only to see WLC rattle off five in a row and never relinquish its advantage. Another five-point scoring run pushed the lead to 11-6 as Wisconsin Lutheran clinched the match with a 15-11 win.
The Warriors hit .200 in the match, with 54 kills against 27 errors in 135 attempts. Senior
Jenna Charron (Appleton, Wis.) led the way with a match-high 14 kills. Senior
Rebecca Chavez (Chicago, Ill.) and freshman
Kayla Wigley (Milwaukee, Wis.) chipped in with 10 kills apiece. Sophomore
Emma Incaprero (Mauston, Wis.) and senior
Emily Sarles (Lombard, Ill.) collected 23 and 17 assists, respectively.
Defensively, sophomore
Amahra Matthai (Plover, Wis.) and Chavez recorded eight and six blocks each and sophomore
Kylee Gnabasik (Jefferson, Wis.) had 11 digs.
Kaitlyn Merrill recorded a team-high 10 kills for Marian, which hit just -.007 on 36 kills, 37 errors, and 135 attempts.
WLC travels to Madison on Friday for a 7 p.m. NACC matchup against Edgewood (9-7, 4-1 NACC). Live coverage links will be available for the contest at WLCSports.com.
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