MVNU (23-7, 5-2 AMC) got off to a good start in the match as the Lady Cougars jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the first set behind two kills and a block by senior right-side hitter Courtney Springer (left) and a kill and a block by junior middle hitter Sarah Yutzy. Springer served up two aces and Yutzy added another block as MVNU expanded its lead to 11-4.

With the Lady Cougars holding a 13-8 lead, a kill by junior outside hitter Jackie Albrecht, a block by Springer and Albrecht, and an ace by senior setter Kaylin Austen extended the lead to 16-8. From there, MVNU was able to close out the set with a 25-13 win as Yutzy and Springer each had a pair of kills and the Lady Cougars were able to take advantage of errors by the Lady Jackets (9-19, 3-3 AMC).

The second set started out well for MVNU as the Lady Cougars held a 12-8 lead midway through the set as Yutzy had three early kills and Albrecht added two of her own. After Cedarville rallied to knot the score at 13-13, two kills by Springer and an ace by freshman setter Lauren Percival put MVNU back on top 16-14.

However, the Lady Jackets then proceeded to score nine of the next 10 points including seven in a row as Cedarville took a 23-17 lead. A block by Austen and Albrecht and an ace by junior libero Caitlin Myles made it 23-19, but the Lady Jackets scored the final two points to take the set 25-19 and even that match at one set apiece.

The Lady Cougars shook off the second set loss by jumping out to a quick 4-0 lead in the third set as Springer pounded two quick kills and added a block and Albrecht served up an ace. The lead grew to 11-3 behind two kills from freshman middle hitter Haley Nofziger and a kill each by Springer, Austen, and Albrecht.

After a run by Cedarville trimmed the lead to 14-10, MVNU closed out the set by scoring 11 of the final 20 points to post a 25-16 victory as Nofziger added three more kills and Albrecht added two kills and an ace.

The Lady Cougars fell behind quickly 5-1 to start the fourth set, but then MVNU rallied to pull within 6-5 as Springer had a kill and a block and senior outside hitter Julie Haumschild added a block. The two teams traded sideouts for the next few points with the Lady Jackets still holding an 11-9 lead.

Then, a kill each by Springer and Yutzy (right) helped the Lady Cougars rattle off four straight points to take their first lead of the set at 13-11. Two points by Cedarville knotted the score at 13-13, but three kills by Yutzy and a block by Austen and Albrecht put MVNU in front 19-16.

The teams traded points to 21-19 before Springer and Albrecht had back-to-back kills to push the Lady Cougars’ lead to 23-19. Following a sideout, Yutzy hammered another kill - her fifth of the set - to put MVNU up 24-20 and then an error by the Lady Jackets gave the Lady Cougars a 25-20 win and the match.

“This was a very important win for us,” said MVNU coach Paul Swanson. “We came out and played really well in the first set. We were right with them in the second set, but they strung together a long run towards the end of the set and we were not consistent enough. We bounced back nicely in the third set, but once again inconsistency plagued us early in the fourth set. We were finally able to push through and string a few points together in order to pull it out at the end.”

Springer and Yutzy pounded 15 kills apiece with Springer serving up three aces to go with four blocks and Yutzy finishing with five blocks. Albrecht added 12 kills, three aces, four blocks, and 11 digs, while Austen handed out 45 assists to go along with 10 digs and a career-high five blocks on her birthday. Myles tallied a team-high 24 digs and two aces, and Nofziger hammered six kills.

“Courtney played like the all-conference player that she is tonight,” Swanson said of Springer, who has battled back injuries all season and did not even hit during warm-ups. “We also got a great match out of Sarah, and Jackie, Kaylin, and Caitlin did a good job as well. This was a team win and we did a good job of playing with this lineup.”

The Lady Cougars will be back in action on Saturday when MVNU will host a tri-match. The day will get started with an AMC match against Point Park (Pa.) University, who is currently 20-6 overall, at 11:00 a.m. Then, Point Park will square off with West Liberty State (W.V.) University at 1:00 p.m. followed by MVNU and West Liberty State at approximately 3:00 p.m.