CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The stage is set for the 2022 American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Volleyball Tournament final round. The championship match will take place at Kohawk Arena in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Nationally ranked No. 21 Coe College will host the Buena Vista Beavers. Coe is the only A-R-C team ranked in the most recent NCAA Region IX Rankings at No. 2. The winner will earn the American Rivers Conference automatic qualifying berth to the 2022 NCAA Division III Tournament.
 
No. 1-seed Coe College Kohawks (26-5, 8-0 A-R-C) advances to the championship match after defeating No. 4-seed University of Dubuque Spartans (11-18, 4-4 A-R-C) in a five-set thriller tonight (25-19, 23-25, 25-21, 17-25, 15-9). Madi Parson and Kate Tidman led the Kohawk hitters with 21 and 14 kills, respectively. Dishing out the assists tonight for the Kohawks was first year Maddy Maahs, recording 50 assists. Ella Koloc and Parson led the defense with 29 digs and 22 digs.
 
The Kohawks have found their way back to the championship match for the second-straight year. This will be the sixth trip (2007-13-14-16-21-22) to the championship match for the Kohawks. Coe’s first conference tournament win was in 2014 and they are looking to add a second on Saturday. A win for the Kohawks would send them to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014. Their first NCAA tournament appearance was in 2006, where the Kohawks lost a tough five-set battle to St. Thomas.
 
The No. 3-seed Buena Vista University Beavers (13-11, 5-3 A-R-C) are headed to the championship match for the first time since 2017 after defeating the No. 2-seed Wartburg College Knights (15-11, 7-1 A-R-C). Buena Vista started off strong taking set one 25-21. Wartburg took set two 25-19 before the Beavers took sets three and four (26-24, 25-18) to advance them to Saturday’s championship match. Leading the Beavers offense was Molly McCauley with 15 kills followed by Rachel Brockney with 13. Senior setter, Taylor Wedemeyer, dished out 37 assists on the night. Molly Bense led the Beaver defense with 15 digs.
 
The Beavers have fought their way to the championship match for the first time since 2017 and fourth time since 2003. Buena Vista is looking to claim their first conference tournament title in program history.
 
These two teams met during the regular season back on October 22^nd in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where the Kohawks would hold on to a 3-2 victory (25-19, 24-26, 13-25, 25-22, 15-9). Coe’s Parson led all hitters, tallying 20 kills in the five-set match. The leading defender for the Beavers was Bense, recording 22 digs. Wedemeyer of the Beavers dished out 49 assists and Coe’s Maahs dished out 46. The leading hitter for the Beavers was Brockney, totaling 18 kills. Will Coe claim their second conference tournament title in program history, or will the Beavers come away with their first tournament title? Find out from Kohawk Arena on the campus of Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Saturday. Stay tuned to our Twitter page for updates on the start time.