Women's Volleyball Reels in Lakeland For the NACC Crown

MEQUON, Wis. – The Falcons and Muskies fought to the very end on Wednesday night, but the Falcons came out on top in a 3-2 victory. The 26-28, 26-24, 25-22, 24-26, 15-11 victory gave the Falcons a share of the NACC title at 12-1.

"Winning a regular-season championship is great for the program and I am super proud of how we battled tonight," said coach Kevin Buettner. "But we have our sights set on much bigger goals."

The serve of senior Jenna Chaussee (Chilton, Wis.) gave the Muskies issues and gave the Falcons an early 7-3 lead. Neither team was able to build a large lead in the first set. The Falcons had a set point at 24-23 with a kill from freshman Mickenzi Benter (Appleton, Wis.). The Falcons then fought off two set points before Lakeland took the first set, 28-26.

After Lakeland jumped out to an early 703 lead, the serve of sophomore Emma Essex (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) gave the Falcons the lead back at 8-7. The second set went long again in the second set and the Falcons came out on top with a 26-24 victory capped off with a service ace from Emma Essex.

The Falcons rode a 4-0 run to finish the third set to take the lead and take the third set at 25-22. Junior Maycee Karpfinger (Wauwatosa, Wis.) had three kills in the run.

The Falcons and Muskies ran past 25 points again in the fourth set. Lakeland pushed the lead to 24-20 before the Falcons soared back to tie the set at 24 with a kill from Jenna Chaussee. The Muskies took the next two points to force a fifth set.

It was all Concordia in the fifth set on Wednesday night. A kill from senior Gabriella Kaebisch (Paddock Lake, Wis.) gave the Falcons a 5-1 lead. The Muskies trimmed the lead to two points on two occasions. A kill from senior Sophia Collins (Lake Mills, Wis.) gave CUW the victory at 15-11.

Maycee Karpfinger led the flock with 21 kills in the victory, one ahead of Sophia Collins, both of whom also led CUW with four blocks. Senior Sierra Lee (Kenosha, Wis.) dished out 34 assists in the win.

Emma Essex led the match with four service aces.

Freshman Abby Proefrock (Grafton, Wis.) had a match-high 21 digs.

The Falcons are the top seed in the NACC Tournament and will compete on Thursday night.

This is the sixth NACC Regular Season title for the program, joining 2010, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020.