THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (WLCSports.com) - Wisconsin Lutheran College fell to Mount Union, 3-1, and No. 15 UC Santa Cruz, 3-0, on Friday in its opening matches of the 2025 season at the Cal Lutheran Invitational at Gilbert Arena.
The Warriors (0-2) dropped their first match to the Purple Raiders by scores of 25-22, 25-17, 18-25, 25-18. WLC hit .200 with 46 kills, 25 errors, and 105 attempts. Wisconsin Lutheran won the third set by hitting .455 with a match-high 14 kills. However, the Warriors were plagued by 20 service errors in the contest.
Freshman
Brady Pichler (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) posted a match-best 18 kills in his collegiate debut. Freshman
Noah Kern (Brookfield, Wis.) added 10 kills. Senior
James Biedenbender (La Crosse, Wis.) recorded 28 assists, one shy of matching his career high. Pichler also tallied three total blocks and Biedenbender registered nine digs.Â
Aaron Armour collected 11 kills for UMU (2-0), which hit .192 on 39 kills, 20 errors, and 99 attempts.
WLC suffered a 3-0 setback to the nationally-ranked Banana Slugs in the nightcap by scores of 25-17, 25-18, 25-21. Wisconsin Lutheran improved to .254 hitting on 26 kills, nine errors, and 67 attempts. Pichler led the team with 10 kills, while Biedenbender passed out 16 assists. Pichler and junior
Drew Wempner (West Allis, Wis.) had two total blocks each, and junior
Trevor Salutric (Lockport, Ill.) had four digs.
Kyle Ownbey hit .846 with 11 kills for UCSC (1-0), which amassed a .373 hitting percentage on 45 kills, 14 errors, and 83 attempts.
The Warriors take on No. 3 host Cal Lutheran (1-1) and Calvin (0-1) tomorrow at 2 p.m. CT and 5 p.m. CT, respectively. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
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