OSHKOSH, Wis. - The Martin Luther College volleyball team earned its first win of the season as part of a split on day two of the Pizza Hut Classic Tournament hosted by UW-Oshkosh on Saturday. The Knights won 3-2 (24-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-20, 15-12) against Lawrence in the opening match before losing 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-16) to host UW-Oshkosh in the finale. 

MLC 3, Lawrence 2

The Knights came back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Lawrence in five sets on Saturday morning. 

The match was back-and-forth between the two teams, with all five sets competitive until the end. Lawrence jumped out to a 2-1 lead thanks to wins in the first and third sets, but MLC forced a fifth and deciding set with a 25-20 win in the fourth game.

In the final set, the Knights were able to pull ahead towards the end and held on to secure their first win of the season.

Hannah Willems was dominant on the attack throughout the match for the Knights, recording 14 kills and zero errors on the way to a .700 attack percentage. Alyssa Heckendorf added 13 kills, while Kati Aguilar recorded 12 kills for an MLC team that finished with a team attack efficiency of .222 for the match.

Willems also added four blocks (one solo, three assists) and a pair of service aces in the match, while Kate Aswege and Aguilar led the team with 19 and 18 digs, respectively. Jewel St. Germaine finished with a team-best 25 assists to go with 14 digs and three service aces.

UW-Oshkosh 3, MLC 0

The Knights followed their thrilling win over Lawrence with a three-set loss to UW-Oshkosh in the tournament finale.

The Titan attack was on point throughout the match, hitting .394 compared to .085 for the Knights. UW-Oshkosh also recorded five blocks and seven service aces in the win.

Kelsey Birschbach was the Knights' top hitter with five kills and two aces, while St. Germaine once again led the team in assists with 10.

Willems was named to the All-Tournament Team for her performance at the two-day event.

MLC moved to 1-7 on the season following the split. The Knights will return to action on Tuesday, September 10, when it travels to Buena Vista for a match scheduled to start at 7 p.m.