In the first game, the Lady Tigers (23-20) jumped out to an early 7-2 and still held an 11-6 advantage midway through the game. Then, behind four kills and a block from senior middle hitter Shena Beheler (left), two blocks by freshman middle hitter Jackie Albrecht, an ace by senior libero Tiffany Milburn, and a block by sophomore middle hitter Stephanie Zollars, MVNU (39-4) rallied to take a 17-16 lead.

With the score knotted at 20-20, Olivet Nazarene rattled off four straight points to move in front 24-20. That was the beginning of a 10-2 scoring run to end the game as the Lady Tigers prevailed 30-22.

The Lady Cougars quickly shook off the doldrums from the game one loss by jumping out to an early 12-3 lead in the second game as Beheler had two kills and two aces and Zollars and sophomore outside hitter Courtney Springer both added a kill.

Olivet Nazarene began chipping away at MVNU’s lead and pulled within 26-23. However, the team’s traded points the rest of the way with Springer’s kill ending the game and giving the Lady Cougars a 30-26 victory to even the match at one game apiece.

The Lady Tigers jumped out to a 7-3 lead to start the third game, but MVNU rattled off five straight points to take an 8-7 lead. Beheler pounded two kills, Springer and Albrecht added a kill apiece, and Albrecht and junior outside hitter Audrey Hickinbotham each served up an ace to lead the Lady Cougars to a 16-11 advantage.

Olivet Nazarene battled back to knot the match at 20-20 and the teams traded points to 23-23. A kill by Beheler and an attack error by the Lady Tigers gave MVNU a 25-23 edge, and the two teams sided out the rest of the way with the Lady Cougars posting a 30-28 win to go in front two games to one.

Things started out well for MVNU in the fourth game as the Lady Cougars took an early 8-3 lead as Beheler pounded two kills and served up an ace to go with an ace by sophomore setter Kaylin Austen (right).

After Olivet Nazarene pulled within 15-12, MVNU took advantage of a serving error and an attack error and Albrecht added a kill to extend the Lady Cougars’ lead to 18-12. MVNU maintained its lead to 27-23 when the Lady Tigers’ called a timeout.

Following the timeout, MVNU committed serving errors on its next two serves as Olivet Nazarene pulled within 28-25. Then, the Lady Tigers pounded two kills and posted a block to take a 29-28 advantage and was serving for game point.

A kill by Albrecht knotted the score at 29-29 and a kill by Hickinbotham put MVNU in front 30-29 and serving for match point. However, a kill and a block by Olivet Nazarene put the Lady Tigers back on top 31-30.

Albrecht sandwiched a pair of kills around a kill by Olivet Nazarene to knot the score at 32-32. Then, a ball-handling error and an attack error by the Lady Cougars gave the Lady Tigers a 34-32 victory to force a fifth and deciding game.

MVNU built an early 5-2 lead in the fifth game behind three kills from Beheler and an ace by Hickinbotham. Then, Olivet Nazarene scored eight of the next 10 points to move in front 10-7 to force a timeout by the Lady Cougars.

Following the timeout, MVNU got two kills from Hickinbotham and a kill from Albrecht (left) as the Lady Cougars rallied to knot the score at 11-11. The teams traded points to 13-13, but an attack error by MVNU and a kill by Olivet Nazarene gave the Lady Tigers a 15-13 victory and the match.

“It’s disappointing to lose this match,” said MVNU head coach Paul Swanson. “We definitely had our chances to win in the fourth and fifth games, and we just were not able to pull it out. We made too many mistakes and did not do enough of the little things well to get the victory.”

“I was proud of the way that the team hung in there and battled despite not playing its best,” said Swanson. “We did a nice job of bouncing back from a sluggish start in the first game to win the second and third games. Then, the final two games were each decided by two points. At this level of play, that’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Beheler led the Lady Cougars with 29 kills, 11 digs, six aces, and four blocks, while Albrecht added 17 kills and 10 digs. Austen handed out 56 assists with 15 digs, and Milburn posted 21 digs. Springer tallied nine kills and 10 digs, while Hickinbotham finished with eight kills and two aces.

MVNU will close out its first-ever trip to the NAIA National Tournament at 6:00 p.m. CST on Thursday when the Lady Cougars will take on third-seeded Concordia (Calif.) University (28-5), who is 2-0 in pool play. Regardless of the outcome of the match, MVNU’s outstanding season will come to an end.