HOLLAND, Mich. - Transylvania Volleyball earned their second straight NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance this evening with a four set win over Pacific Lutheran. The Pioneers won the first two sets 28-26 and 25-17 before dropping the third set. Transy won set four 25-19 to advance to the regional title game versus Hope College tomorrow at 7 PM.

"I'm super proud of our performance tonight," Head Coach Amy Barmore said after the match. "We hit .303 as a team and we dug really well. I'm very proud of our performance overall."

Transy saw another career high in the second round win over Pacific Lutheran. Outside hitter Cate Scheper had a career high 23 kills to lead all players on the floor. Scheper finished with her highest hitting percentage of her career at .524. She had just one attack error in the match. 

"In big moments Cate has stepped up when we needed a kill," Barmore said of Scheper. "Tonight she was very confident. She had 23 kills and one error. We can always count on her".

Scheper gave praise to her teammates after the win. "I know when I come on the court they can always give me spots to hit, tell me what's working, give me that's. I think that's big time when it comes to confidence."

Setter Grace Ward finished the match with 49 assists, and has 100 assists in the regional so far. Scheper and Ward played high school volleyball together and always find themselves on the same page. "We've played together for a while now and I think we have really good chemistry together. I think I can always look to her to give me some confidence." Scheper said of Ward.

Ward's 49 assists move her season total to 1,290. "First off I owe it all to the passers because our passing has really stepped it up throughout the entire season. I can't do anything with the ball if they can't keep it in the system. I can't get an assist without a kill and I've said that before but I have so much confidence in everybody around me." Ward said of her team after the win.

Three different Pioneers earned double digit kills in the win. Kayden Holcomb finished with 11 and Isabella Myers finished with 10.  Holcomb led the Pioneers with 6 blocks on the evening, the second straight match with 6 blocks.

Theee different Pioneers reached double digit digs, with Ava Beltsos leading with 18. Mason Morrow finished with 12, a season high. Grace Ward finished with 10.

Transylvania will face regional host Hope College tomorrow at 7 PM for a chance to reach the elite eight for the second straight season. Hope defeated Wisconsin Stevens Point in five sets this evening.