The Lady Cougars (13-1) began the day with a match against the University of Saint Francis (Ill.), who received votes in the latest NAIA poll and was the top-ranked team in NAIA Region VII. MVNU swept the Lady Saints (12-11) by the scores of 30-28, 30-22, 30-17 as senior middle hitter Shena Beheler (left) pounded 17 kills with five blocks and junior outside hitter Audrey Hickinbotham added nine kills. Senior libero Tiffany Milburn (below right) and sophomore setter Kaylin Austen finished with 16 and 13 digs respectively with Austen handing out 30 assists to go with four aces. Sophomore middle hitter Stephanie Zollars also posted four blocks.

Having gone 3-0 in pool play at the tournament, MVNU headed into its final match against 13th-ranked Georgetown (Ky.) College (19-2). After falling 36-38 in a hard-fought first game, the Lady Cougars dropped the next two games 17-30 and 23-30 to suffer their first loss of the season after posting 12 straight wins to start the year. Beheler again led MVNU with 15 kills and four blocks, while sophomore outside hitter Courtney Springer had nine kills, three blocks, and 10 digs. Hickinbotham registered eight kills and two aces, and Austen handed out 26 assists to go with two aces. Milburn tallied 12 more digs, while Zollars posted three more blocks.

“We played great in the first game and came up just short,” said MVNU head coach Paul Swanson. “In the second and third games, we were out-played in the back row and at the service line. (Georgetown) is a good team and we did not play well enough to deserve to win.”

Despite the loss, the Lady Cougars earned a berth in the third-place match opposite American Mideast Conference South Division rival Cedarville University (13-6), who had posted a 3-1 record in the other pool. MVNU downed the Lady Jackets by the scores of 30-17, 27-30, 30-28, 30-16. Beheler finished with 15 kills, six blocks, and 15 digs, while Springer added 13 kills, four blocks, and a career-high six aces. Milburn and freshman middle hitter Jackie Albrecht tallied 19 and 16 digs respectively, and Austen handed out 40 assists. Hickinbotham also pounded eight kills.

“I was proud of the way that we handled a difficult situation,” said Swanson, referring to the fact that the match was almost meaningless considering that the teams will meet two more times in the regular season in contests that will help determine the AMC South title. “We played with great enthusiasm for a match that in some respects did not matter.”

“Any win at this tournament is a good win,” said Swanson of his team’s 4-1 weekend. “When you play against this caliber of teams, you hope that the team learns from the experience and gets better. Our players gave great effort and this was a very good weekend for us.”

Beheler and Milburn were both selected to the All-Tournament Team for their performances in the five matches at the Best of the Best Tournament. Lindenwood (Mo.) University, ranked 14th in the latest poll, defeated Georgetown in four games to claim the tournament title.

The Lady Cougars will now return their attention to the AMC South Division race when MVNU hosts the University of Rio Grande on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. in a conference match.