Men's Volleyball Hangs Tight With SNC In NACC Opener

MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) - Wisconsin Lutheran College recorded its most kills and assists in a three-set match in program history, but dropped a tightly contested Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference-opening match to St. Norbert 3-0 on Tuesday at the Time of Grace Center.

The Warriors (0-8, 0-1 NACC), who posted their third-best hitting percentage (.265) in program history, fell to the Green Knights (7-4, 1-0 NACC) by scores of 25-23, 25-20, 25-22.

SNC jumped out to a 16-10 lead over WLC after four lead changes early in the first set, before a 7-1 run by Wisconsin Lutheran evened the score at 17-17. Trailing 22-19, kills from sophomores Drew Wempner (West Allis, Wis.) and Connor Haeuser (West Bend, Wis.) knotted the score at 22 apiece. St. Norbert tallied three of the final four set points to take the opener by two points.

The Warriors used a 7-0 scoring run in set two to erase a slim 5-4 deficit for an 11-5 lead. WLC still held a 16-14 edge before a 5-0 Green Knights run gave them a three-point advantage that they would never relinquish.

Wisconsin Lutheran led 4-3 early in the third set before SNC countered with an 8-1 scoring run. Trailing 14-7, the Warriors came within three points at 15-12 following a kill from Haeuser. WLC was within a point at 20-19 but St. Norbert scored consecutive points and then the teams traded points the rest of the set.

Wisconsin Lutheran hit .265 on 41 kills, 14 errors, and 102 attempts. Junior James Biedenbender (La Crosse, Wis.) tied a career-high with 12 kills, while Haeuser added a career-best 11 kills. Junior Jay Thammavongsa (Franklin, Wis.) recorded his fourth career double-double with 29 assists and 10 digs, both season highs. 

The Green Knights finished the match with a .306 hitting percentage behind 46 kills, 13 errors, and 108 attempts. Kaden Kornaus collected a match-high 15 kills, while Michael Whitney had a match-high 35 assists.

The Warriors are home again on Friday when they host Edgewood (3-6, 0-0 NACC) in another NACC match at 7 p.m. Live coverage links will be available at WLCSports.com.