The first set went back and forth with the Lady Cougars (16-4, 1-0 AMC) holding a slim 12-10 advantage midway through it. Then, with freshman right-side hitter Kaylee Hewitt (left) at the service line, MVNU rattled off nine straight points as Hewitt had two aces and junior outside hitter Sarah Yutzy smashed three kills to give the Lady Cougars a 21-10 lead.

After the visiting Wildcats (11-10, 0-1 AMC) scored a point with a side out to make it 21-11, MVNU rattled off the final four points to post the 25-11 victory. Junior outside hitter Jackie Albrecht hammered a kill and senior right-side hitter Courtney Springer served up an ace to help the Lady Cougars close out the set.

The second set was tight throughout as neither team led by more than three points through the first half of the set as MVNU clung to a slim 14-13 advantage. With the Lady Cougars hanging on to a 19-17 advantage, senior outside hitter Julie Haumschild pounded a pair of kills, Springer added a kill, and Albrecht smashed a kill to give MVNU a 25-19 victory.

After the Lady Cougars jumped out to a 10-9 lead in the third set, MVNU proceeded to score six of the next seven points to take a 16-10 advantage. Haumschild and Yutzy each pounded a pair of kills to lead the surge.

Daemen did not give in, though, as the Wildcats mounted a comeback and took the lead 20-19. With Daemen holding a 21-20 advantage, MVNU rattled off three straight points to go in front 23-21. Following another side out, a kill by Yutzy and an attack error by Daemen gave the Lady Cougars the set 25-22 as MVNU closed out the match.

Albrecht finished with 15 kills and eight digs to lead the Lady Cougars, while Yutzy pounded nine kills to go with two blocks. Senior setter Kaylin Austen handed out 35 assists and tallied 12 digs, and Porto added eight kills and three blocks. Junior libero Caitlin Myles and Hewitt posted 13 and eight digs respectively, while Haumschild registered five kills.

“It was nice to come away with a win in our conference opener,” said MVNU coach Paul Swanson. “Jackie played really well in this match today and helped us to hold off a good team in Daemen.”

The Lady Cougars will be back in action on Tuesday when the team will travel to Tiffin University for a non-conference match that will begin at 7:00 p.m.