Warriors Cap Home Slate With Sweep Over Regents

MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) - Sophomore Drew Wempner (West Allis, Wis.) recorded a match-high 16 kills to lead Wisconsin Lutheran College to a 3-0 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference sweep over Rockford on Saturday in the final home match of the season at the Time of Grace Center.

The Warriors (4-18, 1-9 NACC), who secured their second sweep of the season and first in conference play, swept the Regents (1-18, 1-9 NACC) by scores of 25-19, 25-21, 25-22. WLC hit .139 with 32 kills, 18 errors, and 101 attempts. 

After two early ties, Wisconsin Lutheran broke away from a 10-8 lead with five straight points to build its largest lead of the opening set at 15-8. RU came within three points twice, including 22-19, but the Warriors scored the final three points of the first set for the 25-19 victory.

WLC held an 11-5 lead in the second set and shortly after built a 14-7 advantage. A 7-1 run by Rockford brought them within a point, but Wisconsin Lutheran netted six of the next eight points for a 21-16 lead. The Regents came as close as two, but the Warriors fought off the comeback for a 25-21 win.

RU took its first lead of the match in the third set, jumping out to a 9-5 lead. WLC clawed its way back to take its first lead at 13-12 only to have Rockford regain it with three consecutive points. A 7-1 scoring run by Wisconsin Lutheran gave them a 20-16 advantage, but the Regents came back to within a point at 23-22. A kill from Drew Wempner and block assists from senior Grant Wempner (Garden Grove, Calif.) and sophomore Connor Haeuser (West Bend, Wis.) sealed the conference sweep for the Warriors.

Drew Wempner recorded 16 kills, a match-high and his second most of the season, to lead WLC. Freshman Sean Kane (Tinley Park, Ill.) hit .357 with six kills and a trio of service aces. Junior Jay Thammavongsa (Franklin, Wis.) collected a match-high 25 assists to go along with eight digs. Sophomore Trevor Salutric (Lockport, Ill.) tied a match high with 10 digs, while Grant Wempner posted five total blocks.

Connor McNear and Danny Karpenko had five kills apiece for RU, which hit .041 with 28 kills, 24 errors, and 98 attempts.

Wisconsin Lutheran plays its final two matches of the season on the road, starting on Wednesday with a 7 p.m. NACC matchup at Illinois Tech (9-14, 5-5 NACC). Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.