WAUWATOSA, Wis. (WLCSports.com) - Wisconsin Lutheran College capped off Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play with a thrilling 3-2 Senior Night reverse sweep over Lakeland on Thursday in the final home contest of the season at Time of Grace Center.
The Warriors (10-15, 5-8 NACC), who registered their first reverse sweep since October 26, 2022, earned their first five-set win of the season by scores of 24-26, 17-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-8. WLC, which finished in a three-way tie for eighth in the NACC standings, matched a season-high with 61 kills.
Wisconsin Lutheran erased a 19-14 deficit in the first set to tie the set for the sixth time at 20-20. With the score knotted for the ninth and final time at 24-24, the Muskies tallied the final two points to pickup a 26-24 opening set win. Following a pair of ties early in the second set, LU pulled away for a commanding 19-7 lead. The Warriors battled back within six points at 23-17, but Lakeland again scored two straight points for a 25-17 victory and 2-0 lead.
In a third set that featured 12 ties and six lead changes, WLC had the final answer by closing the set with three consecutive points to erase a late 23-22 deficit and stay alive with a 25-23 triumph. Trailing 18-14 in the fourth set, Wisconsin Lutheran rattled off seven straight points to take a lead it would never relinquish. The Muskies came within a point at 24-23, but a kill from senior
Amahra Matthai (Plover, Wis.) evened the match at 2-2 with a 25-23 win.
The Warriors faced a 4-1 deficit early in the decisive fifth set, but a 9-1 scoring run doubled their lead at 10-5. LU came no closer than four points as junior
Lily Schuetz (Lake Mills, Wis.) clinched the match for WLC with a kill for a 15-8 victory.
Schuetz and junior
Lydia Biggin (Burlington, Wis.) led Wisconsin Lutheran with a career-high 16 kills apiece. Schuetz, who was one of three players to record a double-double, also finished with 13 digs. Junior
Kayla Wigley (Milwaukee, Wis.) added 12 kills to go along with 17 digs. Matthai matched a career-high 11 kills for the fourth time this season, while racking up five block assists. Senior
Karah Valerio (Pewaukee, Wis.) collected a career-high 31 assists. Freshman
Hannah Rood (Burnsville, Minn.) added 11 helpers. Senior
Kylee Gnabasik (Jefferson, Wis.), who broke her own school record with 10 service aces, topped all players with 20 digs for her first career double-double.
Susana Stevens recorded a match-high 18 kills and Roseily Carrasquillo tallied a double-double of 19 assists and 11 digs for Lakeland (10-18, 8-5 NACC).
The Warriors wrap up their 2024 season by traveling to Bloomington, Illinois on Saturday for the Illinois Wesleyan Invitational. WLC will face Centre (19-5) at 11 a.m. before taking on the host Titans (19-8) at 1 p.m. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
Â
