CHICAGO, Ill. (WLCSports.com) – Wisconsin Lutheran College came up on the short end of a five-set match for the second time this season, falling to North Park 3-2 on Tuesday in a non-conference match at Carlson Gymnasium.
The Warriors (2-5) fell to the Vikings in their second true road contest of the season by scores of 24-26, 27-25, 25-13, 19-25, 15-12.
WLC held a pair of one-point leads very early in the first set, and a 6-1 run gave NPU a 7-3 advantage to match its largest lead of the opening set. Wisconsin Lutheran faced deficits of 14-10 and 22-18 before knotting the score for a fourth time at 22-22. Two North Park points had them serving for set point, but the Warriors responded with four in a row, including a decisive kill from freshman
Brady Pichler (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) for a 26-24 victory.
WLC scored the first two points of set two and led by as many as four points at 9-5. Wisconsin Lutheran clung to a slim 14-13 advantage before the Vikings netted three straight to take their first lead of the set. NPU extended its lead to 22-17, but five kills from Pichler tied the score at 24-24 shortly after. With the set knotted 25-25, North Park took the final two points to even the contest with a 27-25 win.
The Warriors fell behind 4-1 early in the third set and could never recover, facing a deficit for the entire set. The Vikings led 13-9 before scoring three straight points to maintain a lead of at least six for the remainder of the set. The hosts had their largest lead of 12 points when the set came to a close at 25-13.
A back-and-forth fourth set featured 14 ties and six lead changes, as neither team held more than a two-point lead midway through. With the set tied 16-16, WLC rattled off seven consecutive points to take control and even the match with a 25-19 triumph. Senior
Jay Thammavongsa (Franklin, Wis.) and Pichler fueled the run with two aces and two kills, respectively.
In the fifth decisive set, Wisconsin Lutheran trailed 5-1 before coming within a point at 8-7. NPU answered with six of the next eight points for a five-point lead, but three straight errors had the Warriors down two at 14-12. North Park picked up match point with a kill and a 15-12 victory.
Pichler tied his own school record with a match-high 21 kills. Freshman
Noah Kern (Brookfield, Wis.) tallied 10 kills and nine digs. Senior
James Biedenbender (La Crosse, Wis.) set a career- and match-high with 38 assists. Junior
Trevor Salutric (Lockport, Ill.) recorded a match-best 16 digs. Sophomore
Josh Ward (Mukwonago, Wis.) posted a personal-best five total blocks. The Warriors finished with 48 kills, 30 errors, and 132 attempts for a .136 hitting percentage.
Gerald Malana (15 kills, 10 digs) and Teddy Gedville (29 assists, 11 digs) posted double-doubles for the Vikings (3-5), who hit .209 with 57 kills, 26 errors, and 148 swings.
WLC has a week off before hosting Maranatha Baptist (0-4) on Tuesday, February 11 for a 7 p.m. non-conference match at Time of Grace Center. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
