DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - - The No. 12-ranked Madonna University volleyball team had to rally in all five sets but held on for a 3-2 (25-21, 25-23, 20-25, 24-26, 15-7) over the University of Northwestern Ohio on Friday (Sept. 4) in the opening match for both squads at the Embry-Riddle Labor Day Classic inside the ICI Homes Center.

Madonna (5-0) got a career high 27 kills from senior outside hitter Mary McGinnis (Fraser, Mich.) to go along with 14 kills and 15 digs from junior outside Liz Dempsey (Westland, Mich.). Senior setter Inta Grinvalds (Portage, Mich.) handed out 51 assists and dug 14 balls, setting a new career best for digs in picking up her first double-double of the season. Sophomore libero Amanda Koszela (Dearborn, Mich.) led the defense with 26 digs, tying her career best.

In a rematch of a contest played six days ago at the Early Bird Challenge in Dearborn, Mich., the Crusaders (5-0) found themselves down in each of the match's five sets and started the opening set down 5-0 to the Racers (1-4). MU pulled back into the match as a Katie Czarnecki (Chesterfield, Mich.) kill trimmed UNOH's lead to just two at 20-18. Junior defensive specialist Anna Gatt (Livonia, Mich.) then stepped to the service line and the Crusaders six straight points with Gatt at the line, getting a pair of kills from Dempsey and one from sophomore middle Marie Martin (Canton, Mich.) to get to set point at 24-20. The Racers staved off set point by taking advantage of a Crusader miscue but a service error handed MU the 25-21 win in a 1-0 lead in the match.

Set two was almost a mirror image of set one as the Crusaders trailed throughout the early going of the set and did not pull to even until the set was tied at 22-all. A pair of Dempsey kills and another from sophomore middle Karie Altman (Taylor, Mich.) to go along with a service ace from senior defensive specialist Abby Long (LaPorte, Ind.) pushed the Crusaders to the 25-23 win.

Poor hitting and defense doomed Madonna in set four as the Crusaders connected at just a .048 clip while siding out just 43 percent of the set. With just nine kills compared to seven errors the Crusaders fell 25-20.

The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair exemplified by the 16 ties and seven lead changes the set saw before UNOH squeaked out the 26-24 win to tie the match at two sets each and send the match into a fifth and deciding set.

Set five saw just one tie (at 1-1) and was all Madonna from the start as the Crusaders went up 5-2 before the Racers called a time out. A pair of UNOH attack errors wrapped around a Dempsey kill pushed the lead to 10-4. Another Czarnecki kill made it 11-5 before a kill from Grinvalds made it 12-6. The Racers got one point back on a Crusader service error to make it 12-7 but kills from Dempsey and McGinnis around a Racer error gave MU the 15-7 win in the set and a 3-2 win in the match.

The Crusaders wrap up day one at the ERAU Labor Day Classic with a match against Faulkner that is slated for 5pm. The match will be carried live on the Crusader Radio Network with the pregame show slated for 4:45pm.