Big Rapids, Mich. - For the first time in program history, the University of Findlay volleyball team is headed to the NCAA DII Midwest Regional Final after a stunning upset on Friday, Dec. 6. The Oilers, seeded sixth in the region, took down the number two seed and no. 11 team in the country, the Grand Valley State Lakers, in dramatic fashion, winning 3-2 (18-25, 25-23, 25-21, 20-25, 19-17) to keep their season alive. The win, Findlay's fourth consecutive against the Lakers, gives the Oilers a record of 24-8 on the year while GVSU bows out of the tournament, ending its' season at 28-4. Before tonight, the Lakers' only losses had come at the hands of the undefeated Ferris State Bulldogs, the no. 1 team in the country.

In his post game presser, head coach Wick Colchagoff was asked about the match. His response? "Wow".

He continued, "This match was extremely well-played by both teams with alot of back and forth and momentum shifts galore. The match could've gone either way but...we were able to pull it out in the end."

An underdog in the match, the Oilers, which have now won seven matches in a row, were beaten in the first set, but remained undeterred. 

In the second set, Findlay held an 11-10 lead, but got hot, scoring seven of the next nine points to pull ahead 18-12, ultimately going on the win and pull even at one set apiece.

The teams traded the next two sets, sending the match into a decisive fifth frame.

Findlay pulled ahead 6-4 early on, but four straight points by the Lakers gave the 8-6 lead as the teams switched sides at the midway point.

With the match later tied at 13-13, a service error by GVSU gave the Oilers match point. They would not convert, but another service error, one of 14 service errors by the Lakers on the night, gave UF another shot at ending the match. Again, they did not.

After fighting off a pair of match points by the Lakers, Findlay scored back-to-back points, winning the set 19-17 and winning the marathon match by a score of 3-2.

Senior libero Ava Doster said following the match, "Even when we have a loss, whether it be a set or a match, we have a bounce-back mentality. We knew coming into this match that it was going to be a fight, and it definitely was."

Grand Valley played well, hitting .328 in the match, their seventh-best hitting performance of a 32-game season. The Lakers also had more digs (84-to-77), blocks (8-to-6), and assists (69-to-66), but struggled serving the ball, making 14 service errors and tallying just three assists. As they did the night before, the Oilers served well, tonight scoring seven aces. While the hitting percentage for the match was just .217, it was enough thanks to solid defense and precision passing that allowed UF to make 21 more attacks than GVSU.

Sophomore Hannah Miller, who scored the winning point, led the way with 22 kills on 76 attacks. She was also second on the team with 13 digs. Doster led the Oilers in that category with 19.

Junior Alana Pohlman had 18 kills and three assisted blocks while junior Kenzie Hoelscher had 14 kills and freshman Grace Auer had 11. Pohlman was on fire, hitting .421 in the match and Hoelscher led the team with three aces giving her ten in the last three matches combined.

Junior Emma White recorded 56 assists and had 11 digs while sophomore Abria Lomax had four assisted blocks and sophomore Miya Ellerbrock had 11 digs.

Findlay is moving on to the Sweet 16 where they will play the winner of Ferris State, the top seed and tournament host, and Lewis University, the fourth seed. The match will be played on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 6:00 pm in Big Rapids, Mich.