FOND DU LAC - Marian University women's volleyball (5-16, 2-3 NACC) forced five sets but fell to Wisconsin Lutheran 25-15, 23-25, 26-24, 23-25, and 15-11.

The Marian offense sputtered in the opening set as Marian hit -.040.  The first signs of life for the Sabres came in the second set when a 5-0 run saw Marian go ahead 15-11.  The Warriors responded with an 8-2 run to take a 19-17 advantage but Marian didn't go away.  The Sabres scored six consecutive points to go up 23-19 but WLC responded with four unanswered to tie the set at 23-23.  Kills from junior Serina Pehowski and freshman Mikalah Mueller closed out the set for the Sabres.

Wisconsin Lutheran had an 18-13 advantage in th third set only to have Marian score five unanswered as the third headed for a thrilling finish.  The Sabres were able to find themselves ahead 24-23 only to have the Warriors scored three unanswered to take a 2-1 advantage.  The fourth set was another thriller with neither team managing a lead larger than three points.  After trailing 20-17, Marian was able to go on a 6-2 spurt and take a 23-22 lead.  The Warriors tied the set at 23-23, but once again Marian closed out the set with a kill from junior Kaitlyn Merrill and block by Merrill and Pehowski.

Using the momentum of winning the fourth, Marian jumped out to a 4-1 lead to open the fifth.  The Warriors responded using a 10-2 run to take the first major lead of the set at 11-6.  Marian was able to cut the deficit down to three on three separate occasions but couldn't complete the comeback.

Merrill paced the offense with 10 kills and four aces, while sophomore Riley Shores added eight kills.  Pehowski also had four service aces and her and Shores each had three block asssists.  In the back row, junior Reagan Jasica led the way with a match-high 12 digs.

Marian travels to Concordia Chicago to open the weekend Friday, October 7 for a 7 p.m. first serve.