MINNEAPOLIS - The Martin Luther College volleyball team rallied all the way back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat North Central 3-2 (23-25, 11-25, 25-15, 27-25, 15-11) on Wednesday.

After falling short in the first set 25-23, the Knights fell in a big hole early in the second set as the Rams took a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

The Knights would come back, however, winning the third set 25-15 and outlasting the Rams in a tough fourth game to force a fifth and deciding tie-breaking set.

In that final game, the Knights built a 12-6 lead, and then held off a late charge by the Rams to secure the win.

NCU finished with 52 kills compared to 36 for MLC on the night, but the Rams committed 35 attack errors, many of which were forced by a strong front row of the Knights that recorded 10 total blocks in the match. Alyssa Heckendorf led the way with six blocks, while Kelsey Birschbach and Kati Aguilar each finished with four blocks.

Aguilar and Birschbach led the team with nine and eight kills, respectively. Kate Aswege finished with 20 digs, while Jewel St. Germaine recorded a team-best 16 assists to go with 16 digs. 

MLC improved to 4-17 on the season and 2-3 in UMAC play with the win. NCU fell to 9-10 overall and 1-3 in league play in defeat.

The Knights will return to action on Friday, October 18, when they open a two-day tournament at Coe College. The Knights will face St. Thomas at 7 p.m. on Friday, and will finish the tournament with matches against Millikin (12 p.m.) and Coe (2 p.m.) on Saturday, October 19.