HOLLAND, Mich. - The Transylvania Volleyball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA DIII volleyball tournament after its 3-1 win over Mount Union this afternoon. The Pioneers defeated the Purple Raiders 25-16, 25-23, 20-25, 25-13 behind a career day from sophomore outside hitter Isabella Myers.

Myers had a career high 20 kills in the win, and earned the final kill of set two to give Transy a 2-0 set lead. Myers also finished the match with season highs in points (22) and blocks (3).

"Izzy showed up today." Head Coach Amy Barmore said. "Her confidence was through the roof. She mentioned Grace Ward in her press conference and Grace helped her with that confidence. Izzy stepped up today and I'm super proud of the way she came out and finished the match. Very consistent from the beginning to the end."

Transylvania's offense was great throughout the match. Kayden Holcomb and Cate Scheper finished the game in double digits in kills. Suzanne Klosterman had 8 kills.

On the defensive side, Ava Beltsos finished the match with 27 assists. The 2023 HCAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player has had her best three game stretch of the season at the right time for the Pioneers. Beltsos has had a total of 88 digs over her last three games.

"Ava helped with the hitter's performances today. With her 27 digs, she wasn't letting anything hit the group and also passed very well." Barmore said. "Our goal today was to find the open spot on the other side and they worked collectively to get the job done. This team has done a very good job of playing this game together and giving credit where credit is due."

Setter Grace Ward finished the match with 51 assists, the most in a four set match since the 2021 season and the most in an NCAA Tournament match since last season versus Emory. She had just one set error in today's game. With the 51 assists, she moves her season total to 1,241. Barmore praised Ward after the match.

"This was one of Grace's best performances since she has been at Transy. You could feel it and most importantly, the team could feel it. With her performance, it gave a sense of calmness to the rest of the group and they were able to play the game they know how. Our leader showed up in big plays and delivered. She was outstanding."

The Pioneers (26-6) will face Pacific Lutheran (20-7) tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 PM. Pacific Lutheran defeated Carnegie Mellon 3-0 in the second matchup of the Hope College Regional.

STATS FROM THE WIN

- Transy led Mount Union in kills (64-52), aces (11-3), assists (58-48), and digs (80-73)
- Transy outhit Mount Union .262 to .222
- Mason Morrow led the team with 4 aces
- Kayden Holcomb led the team with 6 blocks
- Grace Ward finished with 19 digs