Things did not start well for the Lady Cougars (21-1, 7-0 AMC South), who are ranked 23rd in this week’s NAIA poll, as the visiting Lady Cavaliers (18-5, 4-2 AMC South) served two straight aces to start the match. However, MVNU turned things around almost immediately, and those would prove to be the only two aces and one of only four leads that Walsh would have on the night.

Senior middle hitter Shena Beheler (left) dominated the first game for the Lady Cougars as she pounded 11 kills in that game alone. Sophomore setter Kaylin Austen also handed out 19 assists in the game as 20 of MVNU’s 30 points came on kills in the 30-24 victory.

The second game was close early on with the Lady Cougars holding a slim 10-8 lead. Then, freshman middle hitter Jackie Albrecht smashed three straight kills and junior outside hitter Audrey Hickinbotham added two kills as MVNU extended its lead to 15-8.

After Walsh, which received votes in the latest NAIA poll after being ranked 19th a week ago, trimmed the lead to 19-15, sophomore outside hitter Courtney Springer hammered a pair of kills to push the margin to 21-15. From that point on, the Lady Cougars out-scored the Lady Cavaliers 9-6 to win the game 30-21. Austen handed out 19 more assists in the second game as MVNU registered 21 kills with Beheler contributing six and Albrecht and Hickinbotham each tallying five.

The Lady Cougars jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead in the third game as Hickinbotham served for nine points and Beheler ripped three more kills as MVNU appeared headed to an easy win to wrap up the match.

However, Walsh was able to regroup and began chipping away at the lead. With the Lady Cougars holding a 22-15 advantage, the Lady Cavaliers rattled off 11 of the next 13 points to take a 26-24 lead and force an MVNU timeout.

Following the timeout, Walsh committed a service error to give the ball back to the Lady Cougars. MVNU scored two more points to regain the lead 27-26 on a pair of errors by the Lady Cavaliers. Then, Beheler registered a block and two kills as the Lady Cougars scored the final six points of the match to post the 30-26 victory.

“There were four reasons why we won this match tonight,” said MVNU head coach Paul Swanson. “First, we had excellent back row play against an extremely good team. Second, we got an excellent game from everyone. Third, we have Shena. She has had a lot of great matches during her career, but this was her best one yet. Finally, the crowd was awesome. It was a great atmosphere, and I really appreciate the fact that our students made it a priority to come out tonight to watch a great match.”

Beheler, a two-time NAIA Honorable Mention All-American, finished with 24 kills to lead the Lady Cougars as she also registered six blocks. Austen (right) handed out 50 assists, while Albrecht pounded 12 kills with 11 digs. Hickinbotham finished with 10 kills, and Springer added six kills and 18 digs. Senior libero Tiffany Milburn registered nine digs, while sophomore middle hitter Stephanie Zollars contributed four kills.

MVNU will be right back in action on Friday when the Lady Cougars will host the annual Papa John’s Invitational. MVNU will take on Trinity Christian (Ill.) College at 4:00 p.m. and regionally-ranked Taylor (Ind.) University at 8:00 p.m. West Virginia Tech and 17th-ranked Campbellsville (Ky.) University round out the five-team field, and the action will continue on Saturday with each team playing two matches.