URBANA, Ohio - Mount Vernon Nazarene University women's volleyball coach Paul Swanson accomplished what no other NAIA women's volleyball coach has done so far when he guided the Lady Cougars to a 25-21, 25-7, 25-19 non-conference road victory at Urbana University on Thursday.
Swanson, who is in his 26th season at MVNU and his 27th season at the NAIA level, became the first NAIA coach to reach the 900-win mark as he increased his overall career record to 900-317. Swanson has posted an 885-302 record with the Lady Cougars since 1984 after compiling a 15-15 mark in 1983 as the head coach at Waynesburg (Pa.) College.
At the start of the match against the Blue Knights (8-10) on Thursday night, it looked like the milestone may not be reached when Urbana came out ready to play and MVNU (15-4) hit two of its first three serves in the first set into the net as the home team took an early 11-7 lead.
A kill each by sophomore middle hitter Gina Porto and senior right-side hitter Courtney Springer helped the Lady Cougars pull even at 11-11. From there, the teams traded points with the score still knotted at 19-19. After the Blue Knights went in front 20-19, MVNU rattled off three straight points to take a 22-20 lead - the Lady Cougars' first of the match. Another kill by Springer and an error by Urbana extended the lead to 24-21, and a kill by senior setter Kaylin Austen gave MVNU the set 25-21.
The Lady Cougars used the momentum of the first-set comeback to propel themselves to a relatively easy 25-7 victory in the second set. Springer and Porto each had three kills in the set with junior middle hitter Sarah Yutzy adding two kills. At one point, junior outside hitter Jackie Albrecht served for nine straight points while registering three aces.
The third set was very much like the first set in that it was back and forth and Urbana held the lead for most of the way including a 17-15 advantage as the Blue Knights tried to stay alive and force a fourth set.
However, a kill and a block by Porto and a kill by Albrecht helped MVNU take a 20-19 lead. Then, the Lady Cougars rattled off the final five points in a row to take the set 25-19 and claim the match. Senior outside hitter Julie Haumschild pounded a kill and registered a block, while Springer also had a kill and a block to close out the match.
"(Urbana) put up a good fight in the first and third sets tonight," said Swanson. "They have a lot of weapons on their team, but the difference tonight came down to execution in the back row. We passed the ball better than they did and ultimately that resulted in the scores being what they were."
Porto finished with 10 kills and three blocks to lead MVNU, while Springer added nine kills, three blocks, and seven digs. Austen handed out 34 assists to go with eight digs, and Yutzy tallied seven kills and a team-high four blocks. Albrecht also posted seven kills, three aces, and nine digs, while senior libero Caitlin Myles recorded nine digs.
After the match, the Lady Cougars presented Swanson with a signed banner commemorating the 900-win milestone. Swanson, who is always quick to deflect any of the attention away from himself, took the time to reflect on where the program has come over the past 26 years.
"God has truly blessed this program," said Swanson. "He has sent exactly the right players to MVNU at the right time. 900 wins is just a number and I never set out to try to get to a certain number of wins. What I have enjoyed is the players and other people who have been committed to this program over the years and who have made this milestone a reality. When I think about all of these wins, I definitely think about the players who made all of this a possibility. It is those relationships that have made what I do so much fun. Celebrating this milestone is really a tribute to each and every one of them."
The Lady Cougars will not have much time to celebrate this victory as MVNU will be back in action at home on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Daemen (N.Y.) College. This will be the American Mideast Conference opener for both teams.