WATERTOWN, Wis. (WLCSports.com) - Freshman
Sean Kane (Tinley Park, Ill.) recorded a program-record 19 kills to lead Wisconsin Lutheran College to a 3-1 non-conference win over Maranatha Baptist on Tuesday at MBU Gymnasium.
The Warriors (2-11), who set team match records for kills (54) and assists (50), defeated the Sabercats (0-16) by scores of 25-14, 25-27, 25-19, 25-13.
WLC broke a pair of first-set ties with a 5-2 spurt to grab a lead it would never relinquish. Senior
Chris Mann (Laveen, Ariz.) capped a 5-1 run with a service ace to put Wisconsin Lutheran ahead 18-10. Block assists from Mann and Kane closed out the opening set that ended with the Warriors scoring four of the final five points.
WLC jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the second set, but MBU used a 5-1 run to later take its first lead of the match. Wisconsin Lutheran pulled away from a 16-16 tie with seven straight points, before Maranatha Baptist netted nine of the last 11 points to steal set two from the Warriors.
WLC never trailed in the third set, jumping out to an 8-2 lead after a kill from sophomore
Drew Wempner (West Allis, Wis.). The Sabercats came within two points on three separate occasions, but couldn't get any closer as Wisconsin Lutheran won the third set by six points.
The Warriors broke away from a 6-6 tie with a 9-1 scoring run to take a commanding 15-7 lead in the fourth set. WLC led by double-digits from 19 points on, including a match-high 13-point advantage at 24-11.
WLC finished the four-set contest hitting .254 on 54 kills against 23 errors and 122 attempts. Kane collected a program-record 19 kills to lead all players. Mann, who hit .643, and sophomore
Connor Haeuser (West Bend, Wis.) had nine kills apiece. Junior
Jay Thammavongsa (Franklin, Wis.) recorded a program-record 44 assists in addition to a trio of service aces. Sophomore
Trevor Salutric (Lockport, Ill.) tallied a career-high 20 digs.
Daniel Says had nine kills to lead MBU, which hit .048 on 25 kills, 20 errors, and 105 attempts.
Wisconsin Lutheran returns to conference play on Saturday when it travels to Lakeland (3-9, 0-2 NACC) for a 12 p.m. match. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
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