For the third straight season, Wittenberg and Calvin met in an NCAA Division III volleyball tournament regional championship match. After the two teams split the last two meetings en route to national titles for Calvin in 2010 and Wittenberg in 2011, the rubber match in 2012 went to Calvin 3-2 in dramatic fashion Saturday.

Calvin, ranked No. 1 in the nation, advanced to the national quarterfinals, to be hosted by Hope College on Thursday.

The Tigers, ranked second nationally, saw their eight-match NCAA Division III Tournament winning streak, dating back to the 2010 loss to Calvin, come to an end. Wittenberg, which had won 14 straight matches, finished the season with a 27-5 overall record.

The two teams were separated by just eight points at the end of five tense sets, which culminated with a tremendous Calvin rally to capture the final two frames. The Tigers won the first and third sets by 25-23 margins, while the Knights battled back to win the second set 25-18 and then came from behind to win the fourth set 26-24. That set the stage for the fifth and final set.

Wittenberg led just once in the fifth frame at 5-4. With the score tied at 6-6, the Knights made their decisive run, reeling off three straight points and seven of the next 10 to open up a 13-9 lead.

The Tigers responded well with three straight points to close to within one point, but Calvin closed the match out on the next two points for a 15-12 margin.

The Tigers were paced offensively by junior middle hitter Andrea Behling with 16 kills, while freshman Kara Seidenstricker added 15 kills and senior Jessica Batanian chipped in with 14 kills.

In addition, senior setter Hallie Donathan turned in one of her finest collegiate performances with five kills, eight digs and a team-high 25 assists.