MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) – Wisconsin Lutheran College concluded its 2025 season with a 3-0 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference setback to Benedictine on Senior Day Saturday at Time of Grace Center.
The Warriors, who honored seniors
Jay Thammavongsa (Franklin, Wis.) and
James Biedenbender (La Crosse, Wis.) prior to the match, fell to the Eagles by scores of 25-17, 28-26, 25-21.
BenU, which never trailed in the opening set, scored seven of the first eight points and held a six-point advantage at 13-7 midway through. WLC cut its deficit to just three points at 18-15 before Benedictine rattled off five straight points to lead by eight. The Eagles took the opening set 25-17.
Wisconsin Lutheran erased an early 4-3 deficit in the second set with a 5-1 scoring spurt. The Warriors led by as many as four points at 13-9 before BenU knotted the score at 15-15. WLC pulled ahead with six different two-point leads and faced set point three times, including 26-25 following a kill from freshman
Noah Kern (Brookfield, Wis.). Benedictine collected three straight kills to close the second set with a 28-26 victory.
The Eagles opened the third set by scoring five of the first six points. Wisconsin Lutheran clawed its way back, using a 7-1 run of its own behind a pair of aces from freshman
Brady Pichler (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) to take an 8-6 lead. BenU used a 3-0 spurt to tie the score at 10-10, one of 11 ties in the third set. Both teams continued to exchange points, resulting in five different ties before Benedictine scored four straight to take a 19-17 lead. The Warriors responded by scoring four of the next five points to reclaim the lead, 21-20. However, the Eagles scored the final five points of the set and went on to win 25-21.
Junior
Drew Wempner (West Allis, Wis.) tied a match-high 12 kills to go along with four total blocks to lead WLC. Pichler added 11 kills. Biedenbender recorded a team-high 24 assists, while Thammavongsa tallied 10 assists and seven digs. Junior
Trevor Salutric (Lockport, Ill.) tied for a match-high eight digs. Wisconsin Lutheran finished with 42 kills for a .168 hitting percentage.
Cooper Armstrong paced BenU (15-9, 10-2 NACC) with 12 kills, Spencer VanEngen recorded a match-high 29 assists and six total blocks, and Armstrong and Jordan Cardenas tallied eight digs each. Benedictine finished with 38 kills for a .264 hitting percentage.
The Warriors wrap up their 2025 season 8-17 overall and 4-8 in the NACC, reaching their highest win total both overall and in conference play in the five-year history of the program.
