In the first match of the day, MVNU (13-4) made short work of Spring Arbor (Mich.) University (9-11) as the Lady Cougars swept the match 25-13, 25-12, 25-16 as all 11 players on the roster saw action. Sophomore middle hitter Jackie Albrecht (left) led the way with 11 kills and 15 digs, while senior outside hitter Audrey Hickinbotham and junior right-side hitter Courtney Springer each pounded six kills with Hickinbotham adding three aces, four blocks, and 10 digs. Freshman middle hitter Gina Porto registered five kills and five blocks, and freshman outside hitter Cieleste Rose posted 14 digs. Junior setter Kaylin Austen also handed out 22 assists.

MVNU saw its chance to claim the tournament title go by the wayside in the Lady Cougars’ final match as the team fell 20-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-27 to No. 19 Campbellsville (Ky.) University (10-4). Springer led MVNU with 14 kills and 15 digs, while Albrecht and Porto each pounded 12 kills with Albrecht also tallying 15 digs. Austen handed out 36 assists to go with 12 digs and three aces, and Rose and sophomore defensive specialist Caitlin Myles posted 11 and 10 digs respectively. Hickinbotham led the team with 26 digs in the match. Springer and Albrecht were both selected to the All-Tournament Team for their efforts over the weekend.

“It was nice to play good teams and get a lot of great competition in this weekend,” said MVNU coach Paul Swanson. “We are continuing to make progress, but we also have to keep working on our consistency. I thought we did a lot of good things this weekend.”

The Lady Cougars will now turn their focus back to the American Mideast Conference as 18-0 Shawnee State University will come to town on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. for a conference match as MVNU will also put its 22-match home winning streak on the line in that contest.