Women's volleyball wins three straight games
Schreiber's team guaranteed at least a share of NAC regular season crown
Carlos Millan
Issue date: 10/29/09 Section: Sports
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The Muskies (18-10, 10-2 NAC) have been the tournament's number one seed for the past two seasons but risked being ranked as low as the seventh seed entering the week. By the end of the week, the Muskies will share the title with Benedictine and possibly Dominican, depending on the results of Dominican's match vs. Wisconsin Lutheran.
Lakeland can clinch the tournament top seed if Dominican loses and can fare no worse than the number three seed. This means the Muskies are guaranteed to host at least one tournament match.
The volleyball team first clinched a spot in the eight-team NAC tournament with a win over Marian College on Tuesday, Oct. 20 in Fond du Lac. The Muskies won the match in straight sets going 25-16, 25-20, and 25-19.
Seniors Brittanie Paulus and Kim Linger had remarkable offensive performances, which helped the Muskies obtain a .326 hitting percentage, compared to a .090 for Marian.
Paulus had nine kills, while Linger posted a team-high 11 kills with a .500 hitting percentage in 20 attacks. Paulus also recorded a team-high 12 digs to go along with her nine kills.
The Muskies then took on Aurora University on Oct. 23 in a match that proved how resilient the Muskies are. The team recovered from a two-set deficit to seize an emotional win over Aurora. The score of the match was 14-25, 21-25, 30-28, 25-14, and 16-14.
The Muskies lost the first two sets and looked deflated, but in the third set they seemed to have pumped up their intensity. The third set was a back-and-forth type set and the Muskies ultimately needed three match points to finish the Spartans.
One of the many highlights of the match was when Paulus had an unbelievable dig that fell near the back line for the Spartans for a kill. Paulus finished with team-highs of 16 kills and 21 digs.
Knowing something was wrong in the first two sets, Lakeland women's volleyball coach Chad Schreiber switched to a "6-2" double-setter offense for the remainder of the match.
The fourth set was won without much difficulty as the Muskies leaped to a 17-6 advantage. This momentum was halted when in the fifth and final set Aurora jumped to a 4-0 lead.
The fifth set is different from the other sets since it is a set in which the first team to reach 16 points wins. So, it is extremely important to start the set right and fast.
However, the Muskies responded by grabbing an 8-7 lead and not looking back. The Muskies won the final three points to win the match.
The Muskies were a digging machine in this match, compiling 69 total team digs. Besides Paulus' 21 digs, junior Kristine Raeder, and senior Tonia Strebelinski each had eleven digs.
This win allowed the Muskies to play for a share of the regular season conference title against Benedictine. This game seemed to be a breeze as the Muskies cruised to a win with scores of 25-17, 25-16, 25-10.
The Muskies were in control of the match from the start and easily closed the match in the third set as they won the last five points.
Sophomore Allison Davis led the offense with 15 kills and compiled an outstanding .609 hitting percentage.
"Allison should get the nickname 'Tournament Time,'" Schreiber said. "Last year she came off the bench and played extremely well in the post-season. For the past two and a half weeks, she has been the one who has helped us get to the post-season."
Prior to the game, seniors Brittanie Paulus, Hannah Ellis, Kaylyn Kasper, Kim Linger, Heather Mayer, and Tonia Strebelinski were recognized by coach Schreiber because this match was senior day.
The Muskies next match is when they play four non-conference matches this Friday and Saturday at the UW-Whitewater Invitational.
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