SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- Unranked Indiana Wesleyan University volleyball has put themself in a position to advance out of Pool C after upsetting No. 10-ranked Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 3-2 on Wednesday at Tyson Event Center in Sioux City, Iowa.

Indiana Wesleyan (30-11) overcame a loss in the first set and then rebounded from a three point deficit in the fifth set to even their record at 1-1 in Pool C. Indiana Wesleyan earned the thrilling victory by scores of 22-25, 25-21, 25-19, 19-25, 25-13.

“It was exciting because it showed our composure throughout the game,” said Indiana Wesleyan senior outside hitter Rae Brandes. “With having a younger team you don’t always know how they will react and tonight they did awesome.”

Indiana Wesleyan had a chance to close it out in the fourth set with a 15-12 advantage. But Lindsey Wilson (36-5) stormed back and scored 13 of the final 17 points in the set to force the decisive fifth set. IWU held a 4-3 lead in that set but four straight Lindsey Wilson points gave them the 7-4 lead and forced Indiana Wesleyan to call a timeout.

“What the coaches talked about was keeping poise,” head coach Candace Moats said. “When you get caught up in the game and finding yourself pretty competitive and you know you can win this you need the poise. We have faith in the girls and after watching film we know we can win this. We called the timeout and reminded them of the pieces that were needed to win this for us. And these pieces we are capable of doing because there is nothing that we’re asking them that they are not capable of doing.”

Indiana Wesleyan answered their coaches’ call with a 10-4 run to grab a 14-11 lead. Lindsey Wilson scored the next two points before Remy Bucknor blocked a LWC attack for the 15-13 victory.

The Wildcats were led by senior Rae Brandes and freshman Christiana Tavo. Brandes earned a double-double with 21 kills and 18 digs. Tavo set a new career-high with 17 kills and five block assists. Her previous high was 12 kills.

“Tavo is a freshman that is climbing a mountain,” said Moats. “Right now I think she is at the top and she is just getting it done for us. She has all the confidence in the world and her teammates are completely on board with her and believe in her. She is just determined to get it done for us.”

Moats continued, “And there is not much more I can say about Rae except that she is a staple for us this whole year. Rae is just the diamond this year with her attitude and effort and leadership. She is just reaching the peak of her performance. I’ve never seen her play this well before.”

The win by Indiana Wesleyan and the 3-0 win by Biola (Calif.) over Dordt (Iowa) sets up an elimination match tomorrow. The winner of the Indiana Wesleyan-Dordt match will advance out of Pool C along with Biola. The Lindsey Wilson loss tonight eliminates the Blue Raiders.

“We are in a position where we really can make this happen,” an excited Moats said. “This is the kind of team this year that we thought has been one step further than they should have got. They keep doing things that they shouldn’t be doing. This has just been the way this season has gone and I wouldn’t be surprised tomorrow if we get it done and move out of pool play for the first time.”

Dordt is 24-8 and was ranked No. 15 in the final NAIA Coaches’ Poll. Like Indiana Wesleyan, Dordt is 1-1 in Pool C as they defeated Lindsey Wilson 3-2 on Tuesday before losing 3-0 today to Biola.

“We are excited about the match tomorrow and to see if we can make it out of our pool,” added Brandes. “No IWU team has gone that far and we are ready to fight. We aren’t supposed to win it so why not.”