MEQUON, Wis. (WLCSports.com) – Wisconsin Lutheran College dropped a four-set Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference match to Concordia Wisconsin 3-1 on Tuesday at R. John Buuck Field House.
The Warriors (8-13, 4-5 NACC), who lost consecutive matches for just the second time this season, fell to the Falcons by scores of 25-17, 25-17, 18-25, 25-23.
CUW broke away from an opening set that featured 12 ties and four lead changes with an 8-1 scoring run to lead 21-14. Concordia Wisconsin pulled away twice for an eight-point advantage, including the set one final score of 25-17.
WLC led briefly to begin the second set before the Falcons went in front 9-4. Wisconsin Lutheran came within three points at 13-10 but a 6-2 CUW spurt pushed its lead to seven points. Concordia Wisconsin led by as many as nine before posting an identical 25-17 victory.
The Warriors never trailed in the third set despite the Falcons erasing a trio of six-point deficits to even the score at 16-16. Three kills from freshman
Brady Pichler (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) sparked a 5-1 run to propel WLC to a 25-18 triumph in set three.
After holding an early 2-1 edge in the fourth set, Wisconsin Lutheran trailed by as many as six points at 11-5. The Warriors scored five straight points to lead 20-19 following consecutive kills from freshman
Ray Dryier (Lockport, Ill.). Following three ties and two lead changes, WLC held a 23-22 advantage to force a CUW timeout. Concordia Wisconsin rallied for the final three points to post a 25-23 set win and take the match 3-1.
Pichler led Wisconsin Lutheran with a match-high 16 kills to go along with 11 digs for his eight double-double of the season. Senior
James Biedenbender (La Crosse, Wis.) added a team-high 35 assists in addition to 12 digs for his fifth double-double on the year. Junior
Trevor Salutric (Lockport, Ill.) finished with a team-high 18 digs, and sophomore
Josh Ward (Mukwonago, Wis.) tallied six total blocks for the second straight match. The Warriors amassed 45 kills for a .148 hitting percentage.
Tate Miller recorded 14 kills and 12 digs for the Falcons (5-14, 3-5 NACC), who hit .174 with 46 kills.
WLC travels to Aurora, Illinois on Saturday for a triangular with the No. 10 host Spartans (19-4, 8-1 NACC) and No. 15 UC Santa Cruz (17-5) at 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
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