MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WLCSports.com) – Wisconsin Lutheran College split a pair of non-conference matches on Friday at Time of Grace Center, opening the day with a 3-1 victory over Wheaton (Ill.) before falling in five sets to Kalamazoo.

Wisconsin Lutheran 3, Wheaton (Ill.) 1 (26-24, 25-22, 16-25, 25-18)
The Warriors opened the triangular with a four-set victory over the Thunder, finishing with a .136 hitting percentage behind 37 kills.

Freshmen Elizabeth Ehlke (Cedarburg, Wis.) and Alex Emberger (Maple Grove, Minn.) paced WLC's attack with seven kills apiece, while junior Elexa Varden (Dixon, Ill.) added six kills. Sophomore Lauren Charbonneau (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) directed the offense with a team-high 16 assists, followed closely by junior Veronica Tollakson (New Glarus, Wis.) with 12.

Wisconsin Lutheran applied consistent pressure from the service line, totaling 13 aces. Sophomore Brooke Bartelt (West Bend, Wis.) and Tollakson led the way with four aces each. Defensively, Bartelt and junior Willa Hollander (St. Louis, Mo.) shared match-high honors for the Warriors with nine digs each. At the net, Varden recorded a match-best six block assists, and Emberger collected five block assists to anchor WLC's 9.0 total team blocks.

WC (5-11) hit .133 for the match with 45 kills. Katherine Adkison led Wheaton with 10 kills, while Karalyn Osborne posted a team-best 20 assists. Meghan Shah recorded a team-high three service aces. Avery Nance anchored the Thunder's back row with a match-high 13 digs, and Mary Hamann led the defense at the net with four blocks (one solo, three assists).

Kalamazoo 3, Wisconsin Lutheran 2 (25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 19-25, 15-10)
In the nightcap, Wisconsin Lutheran rallied from a two-set deficit to force a deciding fifth frame before the Hornets held on for the 3-2 victory. The Warriors hit .130 as a team, posting 50 kills.

Ehlke led all players with a match-high 15 kills, while freshman Keiveana Petersons (Milwaukee, Wis.) tallied nine and Varden and Emberger contributed seven kills each. Charbonneau dished out a team-best 25 assists, while Tollakson handed out 11.

Tollakson and Charbonneau shared the team lead at the service line with three aces apiece. Bartelt anchored the backcourt defense with a match-high 22 digs, while Ehlke collected nine and freshman Ireland Zyzo (Waukesha, Wis.) added eight. Varden led WLC at the net with four blocks (one solo, three assists), and Emberger recorded three block assists to help Wisconsin Lutheran compile 7.0 team blocks.

KZOO (4-11) finished with a .151 hitting percentage and 53 total kills. Quaneice Dillard led Kalamazoo with 15 kills. Makala Goddard posted a match-high 42 assists and added four service aces to lead KZOO. Ashley Zollman led the defense with 18 digs.

The Warriors (6-9) open Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play on Wednesday when they host Marian (4-9, 0-1 NACC) at Time of Grace Center. First serve is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.