BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WLCSports.com) - Wisconsin Lutheran College opened with a sweep over Maranatha Baptist before falling in five sets to Wabash on Friday at the Illinois Wesleyan Invitational at the Shirk Center.
The Warriors (4-6) earned their third sweep of the season by defeating the Sabercats (0-12) by scores of 25-10, 25-15, 25-20. WLC never trailed during the first two sets, and broke a 16-16 tie in the third set by scoring seven straight points.
Wisconsin Lutheran hit .234 in its opening match with 38 kills, 16 errors, and 94 attempts. Freshman
Drew Wempner (West Allis, Wis.) hit .400 behind a season-high 12 kills. Freshman
Marcus Fitzsimmons (Muskego, Wis.) added a season-high 10 kills. Sophomore
Jay Thammavongsa (Franklin, Wis.) collected a career-high 27 assists in addition to five service aces. Sophomore
Ben Thoma (Sturgeon Bay, Wis.) registered a career-high eight digs.
MBU was held to a -.081 hitting percentage on nine kills, 14 errors, and 62 attempts. Daniel Says led the team with four kills.
The Warriors dropped their first-ever five set match to the Little Giants (3-7) in the nightcap by scores of 25-14, 25-17, 19-25, 26-28, 15-3.
WC broke an 8-8 tie in the first set with nine straight points, and nearly replicated that in set two with a 6-1 run after the score was tied nine apiece. WLC broke a 7-7 score in the third set with a five-point run and never trailed after. The fourth set saw Wisconsin Lutheran jump out to a 13-6 lead and later lead 23-19, before a late run by Wabash tied the set three different times. Facing match point at 26-25, the Warriors scored three in a row to send the contest to a fifth set. The Little Giants took control early and went onto win the deciding set.
WLC had 40 kills, 35 errors, and 152 attempts for a .033 hitting percentage. Junior
Chris Mann (Laveen, Ariz.) had a career-high 12 kills, while
Drew Wempner added 11. Thammavongsa tied his career-best with 27 assists, and freshman
Trevor Salutric (Lockport, Ill.) totaled 21 digs, a program record.
Patrick Volk tied a match-high with 12 kills for WC, which hit. 273 on 57 kills, 19 errors, and 139 attempts.
Wisconsin Lutheran faces host Illinois Wesleyan (6-5) and Adrian (6-4) tomorrow at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., respectively. Live coverage links will be available for both matches at WLCSports.com.
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