SHEBOYGAN, Wisconsin – The No. 15 MSOE men's volleyball team nearly turned in an epic fourth-set rally but fell short in a 21-25, 25-18, 25-18, 27-25 loss to Lakeland Wednesday night at Woltzen Gymnasium.

The Raiders (11-6, 8-3 NACC) trailed 20-13 in the fourth set before rattling off a 10-2 run to take the lead only for the Muskies (10-14, 4-5 NACC) to respond with a 5-2 stretch to close out the match.

A trio of seniors reached double-digits in kills in the match, led by Logan Baerenwald's 12. Neil Naughton tallied 11 and Sam Stealey had 10.

Cameron Ekum led Lakeland with a near triple-double of 14 kills, 18 assists, and nine digs. Dakota Hunter added 11 kills.

MSOE came out on fire, hitting .531 in winning the first set. The team tallied 19 kills against just two errors and utilized a 6-0 run midway through the game to turn an 11-11 tie into a 17-11 lead on the way to victory.

The Raiders could not carry over the momentum into the second set where the Muskies broke an early 8-8 tie with a 7-2 run. LU later rattled off four-straight points to lead 22-15 before evening the match. The home team was able to capitalize on the shift in momentum and steadily pulled away in the third period, eventually opening a 21-12 advantage. The Red & White responded with six-straight points but four-straight Lakeland points killed off the set.

The fourth game looked to be a copy of the third as the Muskies built a 19-12 lead before another MSOE rally. This time, it was a 10-2 stretch that led to a 23-22 Raider lead. Senior Andrew Miller had back-to-back solo blocks and Naughton followed with a service ace to overtake LU. Unfortunately, the teams traded points before Lakeland capped the victory with the final three points of the match.

MSOE had 55 kills and a .258 attack percentage on the night but also committed 20 service errors and saw 10.5 blocks by the Muskies. Meanwhile, the hosts were stingy with free points with just 14 attacking and nine service errors on the night. They hit slightly better at .261.

The Raiders return to the court Thursday, hosting Cardinal Stritch in their home finale.