MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WLCSports.com) – Wisconsin Lutheran College celebrated Senior Night in record-setting fashion on Thursday, sweeping Maranatha Baptist 3-0 in a non-conference match at Time of Grace Center.
With the 25-17, 25-14, 25-17 victory, the Warriors (9-5) set a new program record for wins in a season. Seniors
Trevor Salutric (Lockport, Ill.),
Connor Haeuser (West Bend, Wis.), and
Drew Wempner (West Allis, Wis.) were honored in a prematch ceremony.
WLC hit .281 as a team with 38 kills and 13 errors on 89 attempts. The Sabercats hit .047 with 15 kills and 12 errors on 64 swings.
The opening set was tight early, with four ties before Wisconsin Lutheran began to pull away. The Warriors used a 7-2 stretch to turn a 15-13 lead into a 22-15 advantage. Haeuser sparked the run with a pair of kills and WLC maintained control the rest of the set for a 25-17 victory.
Wisconsin Lutheran quickly created separation in the second set, scoring five of the first six points to build an 8-2 lead. The Warriors continued to apply pressure as freshman
David Warren (Brookfield, Wis.) delivered back-to-back service aces during a 6-2 run that pushed the score to 23-13 before Haeuser ended the frame with a kill.
MBU held the lead early in the third set, leading 7-2 before WLC responded. Trailing 11-9, Wisconsin Lutheran seized momentum behind Salutric's service run that included two aces to put WLC ahead 14-11. Salutric and Wempner each tallied four kills in the final set as Wisconsin Lutheran closed out the sweep with a 25-17 triumph.
Wempner led the Warriors with a season-high 14 kills while hitting .379, while Haeuser added six kills. Warren directed the offense with 24 assists, and Wempner and Warren finished with three service aces each. Salutric paced the defense with 10 digs. Wempner and sophomore
Jacob Geboy (West Allis, Wis.) helped anchor the front line as the duo combined for five block assists.
Maranatha Baptist (0-14) was led by Yinghao Sun's four kills. Josiah Scott recorded 13 assists and Eddie McCarty had seven digs.
WLC returns to action on Saturday, March 7, hosting Concordia Chicago (8-7, 1-3 NACC) at 12 p.m. at Time of Grace Center. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
