New Ulm, MN - The Martin Luther College volleyball team earned a hard fought win Tuesday night over their rival Bethany, defeating the Vikings in four sets (3-1).

The Knights fed off the packed LSC gym right away in the first set and jumped out to a 17-10 lead. Bethany would make some adjustments with a timeout and cut their deficit to 24-22, but MLC would fight the Vikings' comeback off and claimed the first set 25-22.

MLC would then go on to take the second set (25-17), giving the crowd a lot to cheer about. In that set, MLC gathered up 13 kills to power their way to a comfortable 2-0 advantage in the match.

The Vikings would have a rebuttal in the third set though and had their biggest lead of the match, taking a 18-10 lead. Bethany would take advantage of some MLC errors and got on the board (2-1).

With the help of an energetic crowd, MLC displayed a hard nosed mentality in the fourth set, as both teams played a back and forth set, trading the lead towards the end. The Knights were at match point on several occasions and finally sealed the deal over their rival with a kill from Grace Kieselhorst and a setting error from Bethany. MLC went on to take the fourth set 28-26 for their first home and conference win of the season.

"It was a team effort from start to finish. Every player on our team chipped in and helped us get the win. I'm proud of our girls and their performance tonight," said Coach Emma Holzhueter.

The win over Bethany marks the program's first win over the Vikings in the past couple of years, with MLC last beating them in October of 2021. The Knights also snapped an eight-game losing skid with the win on Tuesday night and got an added boost with Kieselhorst returning from her injury. The junior finished the game with seven kills, while Lauren Paulsen led the team in kills (10), blocks (3), and digs (14), being everywhere on the court for MLC.

In between sets two and three, the Knights honored former Athletic Director, Jim Unke, with a court dedication. Current Athletic Director, Dave Biedenbender, presented Jim's wife (Lori) with a plaque during the dedication. The court in the LSC gymnasium will now be named the "James M. Unke" court. 

Biedenbender further expressed his thoughts on the night as a whole by saying, "It was a special night to have the Jim Unke court dedication. Not only did we get to honor Jim tonight, but we also earned a big win over Bethany. The atmosphere and crowd was electric and I know that Jim would've loved to have seen it."

MLC (3-10, 1-0) will now look to build off the nice start to conference play with another win as they head up to Northwestern on Friday, September 22. The two teams will face off at 7 p.m.