MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WLCSports.com) – Wisconsin Lutheran College pushed Milwaukee School of Engineering to five sets on Thursday, but the Warriors came up short in a 3-2 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference loss to the Raiders at Kern Center. MSOE defeated WLC by scores of 20-25, 25-15, 25-16, 27-29, and 15-12.

Wisconsin Lutheran (10-12, 4-3 NACC) used an 8-2 run midway through the first set to erase a 10-8 deficit and take a lead it would never relinquish. The Warriors finished the frame with momentum, using a late block from junior Elexa Varden (Dixon, Ill.) and freshman Elizabeth Ehlke (Cedarburg, Wis.) to seal the 25-20 opening-set victory.

Milwaukee School of Engineering (11-8, 5-2 NACC) responded in the second set, pulling away from a slim 12-11 lead with an 11-3 run. The Raiders led by a set-high 10 points when they evened the match with a 25-15 victory.

MSOE carried that momentum into the third set, racing out to an 4-1 lead. WLC evened the score at 5-5, but Milwaukee School of Engineering answered back with a 10-1 scoring run. Wisconsin Lutheran came as close as six points before the Raiders took a 2-1 lead with a 25-16 victory.

The Warriors forced a deciding fifth set with a dramatic 29-27 win in the fourth. WLC jumped out to a 9-1 lead, and later led 20-10, but MSOE battled back to tie the set at 22-22. Milwaukee School of Engineering fought off set points and earned match point at 26-25, but Wisconsin Lutheran answered and eventually finished the set with a 29-27 win.

The Warriors erased several three-point deficits in the fifth set to tie the score at 9-9. The Raiders responded with three straight points of their own and WLC couldn't recover in a 15-12 setback.

Wisconsin Lutheran hit .066 for the match with 46 kills, 34 errors, and 181 total attacks. Ehlke and freshman Ireland Zyzo (Waukesha, Wis.) led the Warriors with 12 kills apiece, while juniors Hannah Rood (Burnsville, Minn.) and Veronica Tollakson (New Glarus, Wis.) each finished with 19 assists, marking a career high for Tollakson. Junior Willa Hollander (St. Louis, Mo.) and sophomore Brooke Bartelt paced WLC with three service aces apiece. Bartelt also led Wisconsin Lutheran defensively with a career high-tying 26 digs, while Ehlke added 17 for her sixth double-double of the season. Varden recorded a team-high seven total blocks.

MSOE finished with a .152 hitting percentage, totaling 64 kills, 36 errors, and 184 attempts. Emma Schattschneider led the team with 24 kills, while Maddie Abel finished with a match-high 46 assists. Natalie Martinez led Milwaukee School of Engineering with five aces and 21 digs, and Alyssa Rusch posted a team-best seven block assists.

The Warriors next host Dominican (0-22, 0-8 NACC) on Saturday at 12 p.m. at Time of Grace Center.