Junior outside hitter Jackie Albrecht led MVNU (29-7, 9-2 AMC) against the Falcons (16-15, 5-7 AMC) as she pounded 16 kills, served up four aces, and registered 12 digs. Senior setter Kaylin Austen handed out 36 assists and had two blocks, while senior right-side hitter Courtney Springer (left) finished with 12 kills and 15 digs. Junior libero Caitlin Myles added 15 digs of her own, and junior middle hitter Sarah Yutzy smashed eight kills to go with two blocks. Freshman setter Lauren Percival also served up two aces.

“We played really well in the back row tonight,” said MVNU coach Paul Swanson of his team, which did not commit a single serve reception error in the match. “The second and third sets were very close and we were just more consistent than they were. We also did not make many errors and kept the ball in play.”

“This was a big conference win for us,” Swanson added. “As we head into the playoffs, we want to continue to get better and this was a nice step along the way. We control our own destiny in the conference now.”

With the victory, the Lady Cougars clinched at least the No. 3 seed in the upcoming AMC Tournament, which means that MVNU has a bye into the semifinals of the five-team, single elimination event. If the Lady Cougars defeat Walsh University in their final conference match next Thursday, then MVNU would be the No. 1 seed in the tournament and would host it on November 13-14. Shawnee State University has locked up at least a share of the AMC regular-season title with a 10-0 conference mark and would hold the tiebreaker over the Lady Cougars in the event that both teams finished with 10-2 AMC marks. The AMC regular-season champion does not play in the AMC Tournament and automatically earns a berth into the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round on November 21.

MVNU will be back in action on Saturday when the Lady Cougars will play a non-conference tri-match at Cincinnati Christian University. MVNU will take on NCAA Division II Kentucky State University, which is 20-7 overall and 16-0 in conference play, at 1:00 p.m. and the host Lady Eagles (11-12) at 3:00 p.m.