GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Calvin women's volleyball team advanced to the NCAA Tournament Regional Final with a 3-1 set (25-19,21-25,25-17,27-25) over Wittenberg on Friday night at Van Noord Arena.

Calvin (29-3) will face Otterbein (25-5) in the regional final Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Van Noord Arena. Otterbein defeated Wisconsin-Whitewater in a five-set thriller in the opening second round match Friday. 

On Friday night, Wittenberg (22-9) jumped out of the gates in the first set to take a 9-6 lead over Calvin. The Knights got things going as they quickly ran off a 5-1 run to take a 11-10 lead after a kill by Maria Bos (Grand Rapids, MI / Grand Rapids Christian). 

Calvin continued to hold a steady lead over Wittenberg and with a kill from Kelsey Smith (Vienna, VA / Madison), Calvin was leading 18-16 later in the first set. The Tigers struggled with the Knights' attack in the first set. Calvin stayed aggressive with its hitting and won the first set 25-19 after a kill by Heidi Westra (Clarendon Hils, IL / Timothy Christian). 

Wittenberg brought the energy in the second set as it again jumped out to an early 7-3 lead. The Knights started to cut into the deficit and after a kill by senior Madelyn Hall they trailed 13-9. The Tigers kept battling and maintained their lead over the Knights with a score of 21-17. Calvin tried to make a comeback by making it a 24-21 game, but Wittenberg closed the Knights out and it was tied 1-1 in the match. 

The Knights started to get into a rhythm offensively and gained an 8-5 lead after a great kill by Hall. Calvin was getting more momentum in the set as it grabbed a 15-9 lead after a service ace by Westra. 

Calvin was rolling in the third set and after a block by Smith and Hall, the Knights led 21-10 late in the set. The Tigers made a late push towards the end, but it wasn't enough as the Knights hung on to win the set 25-17 and take a 2-1 lead in the match. 

It was a close battle to begin the fourth set as Calvin led 9-8 early in the set after an ace by Aubrey Wrubel (Jenison, MI / Jenison). An ace by Theresa Kehn (Brighton, MI / Charyl Stockwell Preparatory) gave the Knights a slight edge with a score of 16-14. 

Th Knights went on a 7-2 run to take a 21-16 lead after a service error by the Tigers and closing in on the win. Wittenberg wasn't giving up in the fourth set as it came back to take a 24-23 lead. The Knights came right back at the Tigers to finish the set off with a 4-1 run to win 27-25 after a match-clinching block by Smith and Vanessa Martinez (Hudsonville, MI / Wyoming). 

Four Knights cracked double digits in kills in the match. Westra led the way with 19 kills and had 12 digs on the evening. Smith finished with 18 kills while Bos ended the evening with 16. Hall had 10 kills in the match with Kehn finishing with 15 digs and Wrubel had 11 digs. 

COACHES COMMENTS: "I thought it was a pretty hard-fought match," said Head Coach Dr. Amber Warners. "I really liked the way we were resilient. I thought we served pretty well and passed pretty well. We just connected well as a team, and I was really happy with our mentality out there and I think that helped with our performance." 

UP NEXT: The Knights will play in the NCAA Division lll Tournament Regional Final against Otterbein tomorrow night at 7 p.m. with tickets available at the door.