"Mid-Ohio Conference Tournament"

  During the regular season, the volleyball teams from Mount Vernon Nazarene College and Walsh University split two matches between them with each team winning on their home court. The two teams finished as the top two teams in the Mid-Ohio Conference, so it was only fitting that the MOC Tournament championship match pitted these two teams against each other.

  After a hard-fought, exciting match that lasted over two hours, it was the top-seeded Lady Cavaliers of Walsh who claimed the match 17-15, 6-15, 12-15, 15-9, 16-14. With the victory, they received an automatic berth in the NAIA Great Lakes Regional Tournament beginning November 21.

  In the semi-finals, the Lady Cougars (35-12) faced sixth-seeded Tiffin University, who had advanced by upsetting third-seeded Cedarville College. MVNC won the match over the Lady Dragons (24-18) by identical scores of 15-7, 15-7, 15-7.

  Tara Seiter led the team with 14 kills and nine blocks, while Christa DeLorenzo finished with 10 kills and five blocks. Courtny Testa added seven blocks and Becky Jefferys served up a team-high two aces.

  "Each game was close early on," said MVNC head coach Paul Swanson. "Then, we would score in spurts and they (Tiffin) had a hard time scoring. We sided out extremely well, and our blocking and back row play was very good."

  After dropping the tightly-contested first game of the championship match, the Lady Cougars fought back to take the next two games. MVNC took an early 9-4 lead in the fourth game, but Walsh (37-6) came back to score the final 11 points to even the match at 2-2.

  In the rally scoring fifth game, the Lady Cougars held leads of 6-1 and 8-3 only to see the Lady Cavaliers rally once again to take a 12-9 lead. MVNC battled back to tie the score at 12-12, and the teams traded points to 14-14. Then, Walsh scored the final two points for the victory.

  Seiter led the Lady Cougars with 21 kills. She also recorded 10 blocks and 22 digs for her fifth triple-double of the season. Tammy Custer, Rachel Widener, and DeLorenzo each added nine kills, while Testa finished with four kills and 10 blocks. Custer also broke her own school record by notching 38 digs in the match.

  "This was a great match between two very good teams," said Swanson. "IT is disappointing to lose, but I am proud of the effort that the team put forth."

  Despite the loss, the Lady Cougars season is not over. They received an at-large berth in the NAIA Great Lakes Regional Tournament to be held at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. This will be MVNC's third straight trip to the regionals. Last season, they lost in the semi-finals to Madonna University.

  The Lady Cougars will begin pool play on Thursday at 8:15 p.m. against fifth-seeded Grace (IN) College. On Friday, MVNC will face second-seeded College of St. Francis (IL) at 10:00 a.m. and eleventh-seeded Michigan-Dearborn at 4:45 p.m.