MVNU (33-8), the No. 3 seed, avenged a five-set home loss to the Lady Pioneers (24-15) just 10 days ago to end the regular season as sophomore middle hitter Jackie Albrecht (left) led the way with 14 kills, five blocks, and nine digs. Freshman middle hitter Gina Porto added 11 kills, while junior right-side hitter Courtney Springer finished with seven kills and three blocks. Junior setter Kaylin Austen handed out 31 assists to go with three blocks and 10 digs, and sophomore libero Caitlin Myles posted a team-high 17 digs. Freshman outside hitter Cieleste Rose also served up the team’s only two assists.

“We played really well and were able to beat a good team today,” said MVNU coach Paul Swanson. “The key in the postseason is to just go out and be as consistent as possible and go as far as you can. Today was a good first step and we will need to continue to play well tomorrow.”

No. 4 seed Cedarville University (22-10) edged No. 5 seed University of Northwestern Ohio (26-11) 25-23, 13-25, 25-17, 22-25, 15-8 in the other quarterfinal match played on Friday. Cedarville will now move on to face top seed and host Shawnee State (36-2) in the first AMC Tournament semifinal match at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, while the Lady Cougars will take on No. 2 seed Ohio Dominican University (22-10) at 11:00 a.m. The championship match will then take place at 6:30 p.m. with the winner advancing to the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round on November 22.