The Buena Vista volleyball team was in control early on against Wartburg College on Tuesday night, but the Knights battled back and eventually hung on to edge the Beavers in a five-set thriller to end the conference's regular season.

BVU came out sizzling in the opening set, breaking open an 8-7 match by scoring nine straight points to take a 17-7 lead and take the set, 25-13.  The Beavers were then in control of set two with a 17-12 lead before the Knights ran off 10 straight to build a 22-17 lead en route to a 25-19 victory.

Wartburg built an 11-3 lead in the third set before BVU cut the advantage to 17-11 and got as close as 22-19.  The Knights, however, hung on in the end of that set to win 25-20.

After nine errors in the third set, BVU settled down and committed only four in the fourth and posted a .275 hitting percentage.  The Beavers overcame a 13-11 deficit with seven straight points to take an 18-13 lead before hanging on in the end, 25-21.

The winner of the match would gain the number two seed in next week's Iowa Conference Tournament, and that all came down to the decisive fifth set.  BVU served first and would jump out to a 4-2 lead and force a Wartburg timeout.  Coming out of that break, however, it was all Knights, as they rolled off four straight points to take a 6-4 lead.  BVU remained as close as 8-6 as the teams switched sides, but Wartburg scored the next four to go in front 12-6 en route to the 15-7 triumph.

BVU had four players finish in double-digit kills, led by sophomore Maddie Bardole's 19.  Freshman Jade Schaap followed with 17, while Emily Mathews and Celie Kohls added 12 and 10, respectively.

Freshman Laura Barry dished out 55 assists and moved into third-place on the program's single-season list. 

Bardole also helped lead the way on the defensive end with a match-high 30 digs.  Senior Jordan Henningsen, who was recognized prior to the match as part of Senior Night, followed with 29.

Despite the loss, Buena Vista (209, 5-2 IIAC) will be the number three seed in the conference tournament which earns them a first round home match next Tuesday night, November 4.  That opponent will be officially determined on Wednesday night depending on the outcome of the match-up between the University of Dubuque and Loras.

BVU returns to action this weekend to take part in the Augustana College (Ill.) Tournament.  The team will open against the host Vikings on Friday night at 6:00pm.