CLUB VOLLEYBALL TAKES SECOND AT IOWA INVITE
March 10, 2003
DII #4 Lakeland def. Bradley 25-18, 25-13
DII #4 Lakeland def. Illinois State JV 25-9, 25-15 Full story...
DII #4 Lakeland tied Wisconsin 21-25, 25-23
DII #4 Lakeland def. DI #19 Marquette 26-24, 26-24
DII #4 Lakeland def. DI #7 UW-Oshkosh 25-20, 25-21
DII #4 Lakeland tied Illinois State 25-20, 16-25
DII #4 Lakeland def. Minnesota 27-25, 25-16 (Quarterfinals)
DII #4 Lakeland def. Wisconsin 25-16, 25-17 (Semifinals)
DI #7 UW-Oshkosh def. DII #4 Lakeland 26-24, 25-21 (Finals)

Lakeland Overall Record: 26-5-2
Conference Record: 8-2(5-1)

Next Match: Wednesday March 19th at Home vs. Marquette 6:00 JV 8:00 Varsity

Key Players:
Quarterfinals- Duncan Mathieson 17 assists, 2 aces, 2 digs
Semifinals- Adam Plach 5 digs, 4 assists, 3 kills, 1 block
Finals- 8 kills, .583, 2 digs, 1 block, 1 ace

Tournament Highlights:
Chris Gornik was named to the All-Tournament team.
This was Lakeland's and UW-Oshkosh's 4th meeting in the last 8 days with each team
winning twice.
The 23 team field also had DI #22 Northern Illinois, Iowa, and DII H.M. UW-Platteville.

Quote from Coach Schreiber:
"We played great all weekend with the exception of a 6 point run in the first game of the championship. That cost us a title, but did not dampen my excitement of how well we are playing. The team continues to make every adjustment the coaches ask. It was also nice to get a lot of people involved over the weekend. I'm really looking forward to the last couple of weeks. This group of guys is a great mix of everything, and makes every day fun for me."

The Lakeland College men?s volleyball team has made a lot of noise on the national volleyball scene this season.

And with the release of the latest National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association poll this week, it?s clear that noise is for good reason.

The Muskies (26-5-2) are tied for first in the nation in the NIRSA Division II national poll with Wisconsin Volleyball Conference rival Milwaukee Area Technical College. It?s the first time in program history Lakeland has been ranked No. 1 in the nation.

?The No. 1 ranking is an honor for the program and a tribute to the guys who have been so focused on us becoming the best,? said Lakeland coach Chad Schreiber. ?It will mean very little in a couple of weeks if we don?t carry this run into the National Championships (which run April 8-10).?

Lakeland is coming off of a second-place finish in the 23-team University of Iowa tournament this past weekend, losing only to UW-Oshkosh, ranked No. 7 in the NIRSA Division I poll.

A week ago, Lakeland finished second at the 28-team Indiana University tournament, beating the No. 1, 6, 7 and 8 teams in the Division I poll, including Indiana University and Penn State.

?We definitely have had our share of success lately, and still we are disappointed we fell one match short of a championship in both tournaments,? Schreiber said. ?It can be a good thing when your expectations are set that high, as long as you remember to enjoy your hard work once in a while.

?The ranking is not going to change anything about our team, but it will probably be motivation for our opponents here on out. There is very little difference between teams at the top. We learned that the last two weekends.?

After beating No. 1-rated Indiana in the semifinals of the Indiana tournament, the Muskies fell in a heartbreaker championship match to No. 21 Illinois. Lakeland lost to UW-Oshkosh in the Iowa final after beating them in pool play a day earlier.

Lakeland lost to MATC back on Feb. 14 in a nailbiter, 25-22, 21-25, 25-23, 25-23. The Muskies are tied with MATC atop the Division II national poll thanks to the solid showing in the Indiana tournament, and thanks to success against a tough non-conference schedule.

Lakeland has three home matches coming up at the Wehr Center, including a March 19 date with Marquette, March 25 against UW-Oshkosh and March 26 with UW-Stevens Point. All matches feature junior varsity games at 6 p.m. followed by the varsity at 8. Admission is free.