BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WLCSports.com) - Wisconsin Lutheran College suffered a pair of 3-0 defeats against host Illinois Wesleyan and Adrian on Saturday on the final day of the IWU Invitational at the Shirk Center.
The Warriors (4-8) dropped their first match to the home-standing Titans (7-5) by scores of 25-13, 26-24, 25-19. WLC trailed for the entire first set, as it found itself down 8-1 early. Wisconsin Lutheran held a 21-20 lead in the second set, but IWU came back for the two-point win. In the third set, the Warriors led 7-6 but couldn't overcome a four-point run from Illinois Wesleyan.Â
WLC hit .078 in the opening match with 24 kills, 18 errors, and 77 attempts. Freshman
Drew Wempner (West Allis, Wis.) led the team with seven kills. Sophomores
Jay Thammavongsa (Franklin, Wis.) and
James Biedenbender (La Crosse, Wis.) had 10 assists apiece. Junior
Chris Mann (Laveen, Ariz.) had four service aces. Freshman
Trevor Salutric (Lockport, Ill.) collected seven digs defensively.
The Titans hit a .290 (45-16-100) as Jace Milka recorded 14 kills and Vince DiCosola totaled 22 assists. Â
The Warriors fell in another tough match to Adrian (9-4) in three sets by scores of 25-19, 25-23, 25-20. With the first set tied 18-18, AC closed with a 7-1 run. Wisconsin Lutheran's only lead in the second set was 3-2, but fell victim to an 8-1 run and was never able to jump back in front. The Warriors trailed during the entire third set in the three-set defeat.
WLC hit .081 for the match with 27 kills, 19 errors, and 99 attempts. Freshman
Marcus Fitzsimmons (Muskego, Wis.) led the way with 10 kills, while Thammavongsa added 19 assists. Both
Chris Mann and freshman
Connor Haeuser (West Bend, Wis.) finished the match with nine digs each..Â
The Bulldogs hit a .198 (39-19-101) as Beck Fieldhouse led with the way 12 kills and Andrew Gawrisch had 16 assists.Â
Wisconsin Lutheran has a week off before traveling to Rock Island, Illinois next Saturday, February 18 for a 12 p.m. non-conference match against Augustana (5-3). Live coverage links will be available at WLCSports.com.
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