In the first match of the day, the Lady Cougars (36-10) downed No. 10 seed Oakland City 25-22, 25-16, 25-21. Sophomore middle hitter Jackie Albrecht and junior right-side hitter Courtney Springer both pounded 10 kills apiece with Springer posting 16 digs and Albrecht adding 11 digs. Freshman middle hitter Gina Porto and sophomore middle hitter Sarah Yutzy both finished with six kills and three blocks each, and junior setter Kaylin Austen handed out 33 assists. Sophomore libero Caitlin Myles posted 23 digs, while Yutzy and senior outside hitter Audrey Hickinbotham (left) contributed 10 and 11 digs respectively.

Needing a win in its final pool play match, MVNU swept No. 3 seed Dallas Baptist 25-20, 26-24, 25-12. Albrecht again led the Lady Cougars with 11 kills, 10 digs, and three aces, while Hickinbotham pounded 10 kills and nine digs. Springer totaled seven kills, four blocks, and 10 digs, and Myles posted 11 digs. Austen also handed out 36 more assists.

With the victory, MVNU landed in a three-way tie with Dallas Baptist and Bethel (Ind.) College for the top spot in the pool play standings with all three schools standing 3-1. Due to set record, Bethel and Dallas Baptist played each other first in one set to 25, which Dallas Baptist won. Then, the Lady Cougars played Dallas Baptist and prevailed 25-20 to earn the top spot in the pool.

"We played really well today and it is nice to advance in the national tournament,” said MVNU coach Paul Swanson. "This is a great opportunity and we need to make the most of it by being consistent in our play in all facets of the game. We’ll take things one set at a time and see how far we can go.”

MVNU will now advance to the NCCAA National Tournament semifinals at 10:00 a.m. MST on Saturday. If the Lady Cougars win that match, the championship match will be played at 4:00 p.m. MST. MVNU has never won an NCCAA national title in volleyball, but the Lady Cougars do have one NCCAA National Tournament runner-up finish.