MILWAUKEE – No. 4 Cal Lutheran men's volleyball battled through its first five-set match of the season on Friday night, outlasting No. 19 Milwaukee School of Engineering 25-19, 18-25, 25-19, 16-25, 15-13.

With the win, the Kingsmen improve to 13-2 overall and secure their second top-20 victory of the year.

Cal Lutheran set the tone early, hitting .293 in the opening frame while limiting the Raiders to a .152 clip. Matthew Wilcox opened the match with a pair of kills before the teams settled into a back-and-forth rhythm. A late surge proved decisive, as Tyler Linville recorded four kills down the stretch, with Wilcox and Brendan Hom adding one apiece. An MSOE service error closed out the 25-19 set.

The Raiders responded in set two, swinging at a .400 percentage compared to Cal Lu's match-low .083 to even the contest. Trailing by three midway through the frame, the Kingsmen tried to regain momentum behind a Raider service error, a Connor Crawford kill, and a block from Linville and Mason Rowell, but MSOE pulled away late to claim the 25-18 decision.

The Purple & Gold answered in the third with their most efficient set of the night, hitting .370 as a team. CLU jumped out to a 4-1 lead and later used a 7-1 mid-set run, highlighted by kills from Linville and Wilcox, to create separation and take a 2-1 match advantage with another 25-19 win.

MSOE forced a winner-take-all fifth set with a dominant fourth-frame performance, posting a blistering .560 hitting percentage without committing an attack error. The Raiders capitalized on a fast start and steady pressure at the net to take the set, 25-16.

In the decisive fifth, the Kingsmen and Raiders traded points deep into the set. Crawford delivered a clutch kill to bring Cal Lutheran to match point, and Linville followed with a solo block to seal the 15-13 victory.

Crawford led the Kingsmen with 18 kills and added 12 digs for his first double-double of the season. Hom chipped in 16 kills and a service ace, Linville tallied 13 kills, and Wilcox added 10 on a team-best .529 hitting percentage.

Garrett Ream and Gavin Galanski split the setting duties, combining for 43 assists, while Braden Gonzales anchored the defense with a match-high 19 digs.

Cal Lutheran continues its Midwest swing on Saturday, February 21 with a doubleheader, first facing No. 5 Carthage at 11 a.m. PT before wrapping up the trip against Lakeland at 2 p.m. PT.