Men's Volleyball Upends Marian In Five-Set Conference Lid-Lifter

MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) - Freshman Brady Pichler (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) and senior James Biedenbender (La Crosse, Wis.) each recorded double-doubles to lead Wisconsin Lutheran College to a 3-2 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference comeback win over Marian on Tuesday at Time of Grace Center.

The Warriors (4-8, 1-0 NACC), who started 1-0 in conference play for the first time, outlasted the Sabres in five sets by scores of 25-17, 23-25, 22-25, 25-20, 15-11.

WLC scored the first two points of the opening set before MU answered with three of its own to take a slim 3-2 lead. Wisconsin Lutheran responded with a 4-0 spurt behind a pair of kills from freshman Noah Kern (Brookfield, Wis.) to give them a 6-3 advantage. After some back-and-forth, the Warriors scored six straight points, led by three service aces from Kern, to extend their lead to eight points at 14-6. Marian scored four straight points to cut its deficit to five, but was unable to pull any closer as WLC took set one, 25-17.

The Sabres used an early 3-0 run to jump out to a 7-3 lead in set two. Wisconsin Lutheran scored four of the next five to pull within one, before MU tallied the next three and held an 11-7 advantage. The Warriors used a 4-1 run, led by a pair of kills from sophomore Will Smith (Oconomowoc, Wis.) late in the set to tie the score at 21-21, but couldn't pull ahead as Marian evened the match with a 25-23 win.

WLC held an early 3-2 lead before a 3-0 Sabres run gave them a 5-3 advantage in set three. After Wisconsin Lutheran tied the score at 9-9, MU scored six of the next seven to pull ahead 15-10. The Warriors used three service aces from Biedenbender to spark a 5-0 run to pull within one at 23-22. Marian scored the final points of the set for a 25-22 victory and 2-1 match lead.

WLC jumped out to an early 5-2 advantage in the fourth set. Both teams exchanged points before a 5-1 Wisconsin Lutheran run gave them an 11-6 lead. The Sabres used a 5-0 run to knot the score at 15-15, before the Warriors netted three straight to regain the lead at 18-15. WLC held on to win the fourth set, 25-20, evening the contest at 2-2. 

Wisconsin Lutheran led early in the fifth set, 3-1. Both teams went back and forth, but the Warriors were able to grow their advantage to 10-6. MU cut its deficit to two, but a kill and match-ending block from junior Drew Wempner (West Allis, Wis.) sealed the victory for WLC with a 15-11 fifth set triumph.

Pichler finished with a match-high 21 kills while recording 11 digs for his third double-double of the season. Kern added a season-high 14 kills and four service aces, while Wempner hit a program-record .563 with 10 kills along with five total blocks. Biedenbender also notched his first double-double of the year, amassing a career-high 41 assists, matching a career-high 18 digs in addition to a career-high four service aces. Junior Trevor Salutric (Lockport, Ill.) collected a match-high 19 digs. Wisconsin Lutheran, which recorded a program-record 64 kills and 57 assists, posted its second-best hitting percentage (.270) of the season.

Adrian Calderon totaled 18 kills and 10 digs for Marian (7-6, 1-1 NACC), which hit .236 with 55 kills, 20 errors, and 148 attacks.

The Warriors continue conference play Friday on the road at Rockford (3-8, 0-1 NACC). First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.