MVNU (31-7, 9-3 AMC) appeared sluggish at the start of the first set as the Lady Cougars fell behind 13-7 to the visiting Lady Jackets (17-9, 8-3 AMC). Twice MVNU pulled within two points (14-12 and 17-15), but Cedarville answered both times and pushed the lead back to as much as 21-17.

Trying to keep from dropping the first set, the Lady Cougars rattled off four straight points to knot the score at 21-21 as sophomore middle hitter Jackie Albrecht and junior right-side hitter Courtney Springer (left) both had a kill, junior setter Kaylin Austen served up an ace, and Albrecht and Springer combined on a block.

After a sideout by Cedarville gave the Lady Jackets a 22-21 advantage, Albrecht and Springer pounded back-to-back kills to give MVNU its first lead of the set at 23-22. Following a Cedarville sideout that tied the set at 23-23, Springer smashed two straight kills to give the Lady Cougars the come-from-behind 25-23 win. Springer had six kills in the set including four of MVNU’s final six points.

The second set went back and forth from the start with neither team holding more than a three-point lead throughout the duration of the set. There were eight lead changes and 13 ties, but the Lady Cougars were able to pull away from a 21-21 deadlock by scoring four the final five points for the 25-22 victory as Albrecht hammered a pair of kills.

Ahead 2-0 in sets, MVNU appeared ready to cruise to a victory in the third set as the Lady Cougars roared out to a 14-6 advantage behind good team play and some miscues by the Lady Jackets. However, Cedarville began to close the gap in spurts as the Lady Jackets pulled within 22-21.

A kill by Albrecht pushed the MVNU lead back to 23-21 and set the stage for what might have been the rally of the season. Trying to stave off match point, Cedarville showed great hustle and defensive ability in returning every ball attacked by the Lady Cougars. Finally, Springer ended what was easily a 90-second rally with a kill to put MVNU in front 24-21. After a timeout by the Lady Jackets, the Lady Cougars prevailed 25-21 on a Cedarville miscue.

Albrecht finished with 14 kills and 14 digs to lead MVNU, while Springer pounded 12 kills to go with a team-best five blocks and a 26-for-26 showing in serve reception attempts. Austen handed out 40 assists while serving up three aces, and Porto smashed 10 kills with three blocks. Sophomore libero Caitlin Myles and freshman outside hitter Cieleste Rose also contributed 16 and 12 digs respectively.

“This was a big conference win for us,” said MVNU coach Paul Swanson, whose team extended its consecutive sets won streak to 29 in a row with the sweep. “We did not play very well at the start, but we eventually caught fire and became focused on the task at hand. We were consistent enough in the back row to run our offense, and we did a good job of serve receiving with just one error. This win keeps us in the hunt to possibly host the conference tournament.”

The Lady Cougars will return to action on Thursday when the team will travel to Ursuline College for another conference match that will begin at 7:00 p.m. Then, MVNU will close out the regular season next Tuesday at home against Malone University.