Martin Luther outlasts Bethany Lutheran for 3-2 UMAC volleyball quarterfinal win
NEW ULM, Minn.---The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) volleyball postseason tournament started in exciting fashion with local rivals Bethany Lutheran College and Martin Luther College in quarterfinal play. Just as the two foes had early in the season, it took five sets to decide with Martin Luther emerging victorious 3-2 (19-25, 25-9, 27-29, 25-15, 16-14) Monday evening.
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After the Vikings and Knights went to five sets in their regular season matchup, the playoff rematch was sure to have the potential to go to five. With both teams hungry to advancce in the postseason, five sets was nearly a guarantee from the get-go.
In the opening set, the two teams exchanged points until 16-16 the Vikings went on a 7-0 run before closing out the set with a 25-19 win to go up one set to none. The Knights roared back, though, dominating the second set to take it 25-9 evening the match at 1-1.
The third set was a battle with neither side willing to back down taking the deciding point past 25. Finally, the Vikings broke through to take the set 29-27. Again, the Knights bounced back taking the fourth set in convincing fashion by a score 25-15 to take it to a fifth set.
The final set couldn't have been much closer. Tied at 8-8, the Knights looked as if they would pull away easily as they made it 14-11. Facing match point, the Vikings rattled off three-straight points to tie the game again at 14-14. The Knights managed to win the next two in order to advance on to the semis.
Kira Grev and Jade St. Germaine led the Knights' attack with 22 and 18 kills, respectively. Grev recorded a double-double adding 17 digs, while Emily Neeb had a team-high 23. Emily Byhardt set up the offense with 33 assists.
For the Vikings, Megan Rutt had 19 kills, while Rachel Sorensen had 15 and Kristen Mielke had 12. Jasmine Carlson recorded a match-high 54 assists and completed a double-double with 13 digs. Anna Nelson also added 26 digs for the Vikings.
Monday's quarterfinal sets the stage for two exciting semifinals Wednesday. The No. 4 Knights will head north to face No. 1 seed University of Northwestern at 7 p.m. in St. Paul, Minnesota, while No. 2 University of Minnesota Morris will host No. 3 College of St. Scholastica at 7 p.m. in Morris, Minnesota.
All tournament information including scores, recaps, team information and more can be found on the
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Playoff Schedule
Quarterfinal Round – Monday, Oct. 31
No. 4 Martin Luther defeats No. 5 Bethany Lutheran 3-2 |
Box Score |
MLC Recap |
BLC Recap |
Semifinal Round – Wednesday, Nov. 2
No. 4 Martin Luther AT No. 1 Northwestern; St. Paul, Minn., 7 p.m. |
Live Video |
Live Stats |
No. 3 St. Scholastica AT No. 2 Minnesota Morris; Morris, Minn. 7 p.m. |
Live Broadcast |
Championship – Saturday, Nov. 5
Lowest remaining seed at highest remaining seed; Location and time, 7 p.m.