DUBUQUE, Iowa – The University of Dubuque women's volleyball team took the final two sets of the A-R-C Semifinal against Central College in a 3-2 (26-24, 26-28, 13-25, 25-22) victory on Thursday. The top-seeded Spartans clawed back to snatch victory thanks to career performances from Taylor Bechen and Ashley Glennon.

The #18 Spartans (25-3, 8-0 A-R-C) started the first set strong, building a 13-5 lead early. The Dutch (22-9, 5-3 A-R-C) used a timeout and captured momentum, slowly cutting their deficit before taking a 24-23 lead late. Kills from Megan Cooley, Delainey Winkel, and Payton Uptagraft stifled the Dutch comeback attempt as the Spartans won the first set 26-24. The Dutch shot out to a 12-4 lead early in the second set, which played out similarly to the first set. The Spartans clawed back late but the Dutch took the second set 28-26. Central ran with the momentum and won the third set handily, 25-13. The Spartans, invigorated by the break, took a 4-3 lead and never looked back, holding a slim lead the entire set and capturing it 25-22. The Spartans gathered a 9-4 lead early in the decisive fifth set, but the Dutch had two separate runs of four points and took a 12-11 lead late. The Spartans responded with a four-point run to close the match, sending them to the A-R-C Championship and ending the Dutch's season.

Bechen, who won five Defensive Athlete of the Week awards this season, looks poised to capture another award after a career-high 42 digs in Thursday's contest. Glennon led the Spartans with 19 kills, also a career-high. Glennon added 15 digs and three blocking assists in the victory. Winkel only had four kills in the first three sets, but was unstoppable in the final two frames, adding nine kills for a total of 13 on the evening. Winkel tallied 18 digs and added two service aces. Uptagraft notched eight kills and Caitlin Jensen added seven kills for hitting percentages of .400 and .333, respectively. Both players had one solo block each, while Jensen notched five blocking assists and Uptagraft added four more.

Up Next

The #18 and top-seeded Spartans (25-3, 8-0 A-R-C) will host No. 2 seed Coe College (20-9, 7-1 A-R-C) in the A-R-C Championship this Saturday (Nov. 15) at 7:00 p.m. on Jon Davison Court. The Kohawks swept No. 3 seed Simpson College on Thursday in the A-R-C Semifinal to advance to the Championship. During their last meeting, the Spartans swept the Kohawks at home 3-0 in the A-R-C opener.