OSHKOSH, Wis. – The University of Dubuque women's volleyball team survived an upset bid from No. 7 seed Cornell College on Thursday, defeating the Rams 3-2 (25-17, 25-27, 24-26, 25-11, 15-12) in a five-set comeback victory. The No. 2 seed (#22) Spartans will face No. 3 seed (#21) WashU in the second round, Friday at 4:30 p.m.

The first set began with the No. 7 seed Rams jumping out to a 2-0 lead. Kills by Ashley Glennon and Megan Cooley, followed by a block by Payton Uptagraft, gave the Spartans a 3-2 lead. Cooley added two more blocks in the next few points, helping the Spartans build a 6-4 lead. The Spartans took advantage of several Rams errors and extended their lead to four, forcing the Rams to use their first timeout. Fresh out of the timeout, Delainey Winkel served an ace, and Halee Clare notched a kill to further extend the lead. The Rams used their final timeout with the Spartans leading 15-9. UD took the next two points out of the timeout. After a short Rams run, the Spartans regained serve on a Rams error, which led to an ace by Glennon. Cooley registered her fourth kill of the afternoon and then paired up with Caitlin Jensen for a block. With no timeouts left, the Rams couldn't slow the Spartans' momentum. Kills by Winkel and Clare sealed the first set 25-17. Cooley and Winkel finished the first set with four kills each, while Glennon added seven digs.

The second set began with another kill by Cooley. The set went back-and-forth for several points before the Rams took a 7-4 lead. An ace by Winkel tied the set at seven and both teams continued to trade points. The Rams found their footing defensively, blocking several attacks before Cooley responded with a solo block to cut the deficit to two points. On the next point, Bechen, Winkel, and Alexis Kammerer made diving digs in a momentum-shifting, 30-touch point. Winkel gave the Spartans a 14-13 lead with her sixth kill, compelling the Rams to use their first timeout. Cooley and Jensen combined for another block out of the timeout and another ace by Winkel made the score 17-15. Glennon and Jensen block a Rams attack, and the Rams used their final timeout, trailing 18-15. The Rams made a run, and the Spartans used their first timeout, protecting a 19-18 lead. The Rams took a 23-22 lead and Cooley added her eighth kill to tie the set at 23. The Spartans used their final timeout after a Rams kill took the lead. Cornell won the set 27-26. Kammerer added seven assists during the second set.

Uptagraft gave the Spartans a 1-0 lead with an initial kill. The Rams took a 4-3 lead on a blocked attack by Cooley. The Spartans grinded out points despite incredible digs from the Rams' back line and managed to take an 8-6 lead. The Rams then used their first timeout. The Rams' relentlessness paid off, as they built a 12-9 lead. The Rams continued to control the pace of the match but another block by Cooley and Uptagraft cut the deficit to one. Winkel added four kills in six points as the Spartans tied the set at 17. The Spartans took a lead and the Rams used a timeout. Glennon and Jensen then responded with a block after the timeout. Uptagraft and Glennon blocked another attack as the Spartans took a 21-20 lead late. Kills by Glennon and Winkel gave the Spartans a 23-21 lead, but the Rams tied the set at 23, prompting head coach Karrah Davis to use a timeout. With the score tied at 24, the Rams took the next two points and won the set 26-24.

Cooley set a career high in kills to begin the fourth set, bringing her game total to 14 as the Spartans built a 5-3 lead. Two Winkel kills later, Cornell used their final timeout. The timeouts were effective as the Rams took a 9-8 lead, forcing a Spartans timeout. On her serve, Winkel crushed a kill and added an ace as the Spartans won consecutive seven points. The Rams ended the rally with a hard-fought point, and the Spartans took a 19-10 lead thanks to three Cornell attack errors and a massive kill by Clare. Glennon responded to a Cornell kill with a solo block and a block assist to give the Spartans a 22-11 lead. Cooley crushed her 15th kill of the evening and a block by Glennon and Uptagraft secured the 25-11 set, forcing a fifth set.

Cooley smashed her 16th kill to begin the fifth set, but Cornell would take the next two points. Winkel notched her 18th kill and Bechen added a service ace as the Spartans tied the score at three apiece. Winkel broke the tie with a kill, but the Rams then blocked an attack by Clare and took a 5-4 lead. Winkel's 20th kill tied the set and an attack error gave the Spartans the lead. The Rams took an 8-7 lead, and the teams switched sides. Cooley added a key block that gave the Spartans an 11-10 lead, prompting Cornell to use their first timeout. The teams traded points and Winkel added a block to extend the lead to 13-11, forcing the Rams to use their final timeout. Cooley crushed a kill past the libero to give the Spartans a 14-12 lead, but the Rams would win the next point. Winkel finished the match with a kill and the Spartans survived to advance to the second round.

Winkel tied her career-high with 22 kills and added 21 digs in the victory. Cooley set a career-high 17 digs at an incredible .424 clip. Bechen tallied 35 digs in the contest, while Glennon added two solo blocks and five blocking assists along with 27 digs, a career high. Jensen and hometown hero Uptagraft each notched a solo block with five and four blocking assists each, respectively. Kammerer set a career high in assists, finishing with 39.

Up Next

The No. 2 seed (#22) Spartans will take on No. 2 seed (#21) WashU in the second round on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The Bears defeated No. 6 Saint Benedict in the first round 3-0 on Thursday.