The Aurora University women's volleyball team defeated Lakeland University 3-1 (25-13, 27-29, 25-19, 25-18) to advance to the 2018 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament Championship on Saturday, November 3.

THE BASICS:
FINAL SCORE: #1 Aurora University 3, #4 Lakeland University 1 (25-13, 27-29, 25-19, 25-18)
LOCATION: Lancaster Court in Thornton Gymnasium - Aurora, Illinois
RECORDS: Aurora University 22-8 overall; Lakeland University 22-11 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED -
- The Spartans led early in the opening set and went on to mash the Muskies 25-13 behind nine Katie Vondra kills.
- In the second set, the Spartans found themselves trailing nearly throughout the entire set. The Spartans did battle back to tie the match multiple times before grabbing a lead at 26-25. 
- Lakeland was able to out last the Spartans though and tie the match up at 1-1 with a second set score of 29-27 Lakeland.
- The third set started out with Lakeland dominating action and taking a 6-1 and 14-9 lead.
- Trailing 15-11, AU had an 8-1 run to lead 19-16.
- The Spartans would not relinquish that lead and win the set 25-19.
- AU dominated the fourth set, never trailing and the only tie was at 2-2. AU won 25-18 to advance in the NACC Tournament.

SPARTAN LEADERS –                                             
KILLS: Katie Vondra (27) and Lindsey Simpson (14)
ASSISTS: Emily Lines (54)
ACES: Imani Freeman (3) and Lindsey Simpson (2)
DIGS: Julia Wood (37), Nikki Lofshult (20), Katie Vondra (18) and Emily Lines (12)
BLOCKS: Imani Freeman and Samantha Weising (3)
 
UP NEXT:
Next action for the Spartan women's volleyball team comes on Saturday, November 3 when they host the Championship game of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament. Game time is set 7:00 p.m. against #2 Concordia University Wisconsin on Lancaster Court in Thornton Gymnasium.