NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College volleyball team won a five-set thriller against rival Bethany Lutheran College 3-2 (19-25, 25-9, 27-29, 25-15, 16-14) in the quarterfinal round of the UMAC Postseason Tournament on Monday.

The Knights lost the first and third sets, but dominated the second and fourth games. MLC hit .455 in the second game, highlighted by six Rylee Weisensel kills, and then hit .560 in the fourth set to send the match to a fifth and deciding set. Jade St. Germaine and Kira Grev combined for 11 kills and zero errors in the fourth set for MLC.

The teams traded points to start the fifth set, but the Knights built a 14-10 cushion, needing only one more point to close the match. The Vikings came back, however, scoring four straight points to put pressure on MLC, but the Knights got the side out the needed on a Grace Schultz kill to take a 15-14 lead, and then closed the match with a block by Weisensel and Jenna Miller to secure the win.

MLC hit .288 for the match, led by 22 kills and a .354 attack percentage from Grev. St. Germaine added 18 kills and hit .344, while Schultz and Weisensel added ten and seven kills, respectively.

The Knights also had a huge day with blocks up front, finishing with 17.0 for the match compared to 6.0 for BLC. Weisensel and Ruth Buchholz each finished with seven blocks to lead the Knights, while Schultz, St. Germaine and Miller each finished with four apiece.

Emily Neeb led MLC with 23 digs, followed by 17 from Grev and ten from Emily Byhardt, who also led the team with 33 assists.

The Knights improved to 11-21 on the season with the win, and now advance to the semifinal round of the UMAC Postseason Tournament, where they will face conference-champion Northwestern on Wednesday, November 2. That match will start at 7 p.m.