DES MOINES, Iowa -- The trend continued Saturday of top tier talented teams on the other side of the court from the No. 17-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University volleyball team at the Grand View Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa.

Indiana Wesleyan lost a hard fought five set match to No. 12-ranked Bellevue (Neb.) in the morning before rebounding for a three set victory over host and No. 24-ranked Grand View (Iowa). On Friday, Indiana Wesleyan lost a very close three set match to No. 13-ranked Midland (Neb.) and then defeated St. Francis (Ill.) 3-0. St. Francis is receiving votes in the national poll.

“The girls have been working hard this preseason and we thought it really paid off this weekend,” said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Candace Moats. “We are looking forward to continuing to improve throughout the season. We really saw a glimpse of our potential throughout the weekend in Iowa.”

Bellevue was forced to overcome two different deficits on Saturday to upend Indiana Wesleyan. IWU lost the five set match 25-21, 21-25, 25-21, 14-25, 12-15.

Kristine Egebrecht continued her stellar play from her junior season where she was named NAIA All-American First Team. Egebrecht led the team with 20 kills plus added a solo and two blocks. Rebecca Brandes contributed a match best 25 digs and her sister Rae Brandes supplied 14 kills. Samantha Elkin and Katey Holler both had three aces.

Indiana Wesleyan finished the weekend with a nice win over host Grand View. The Wildcats pulled out the victory by scores of 25-21, 25-17, 25-16.

Egebrecht once again led the Wildcats with 11 kills and Re. Brandes finished with 18 digs. Elkins served four aces while Raina Troyer added three more.

Indiana Wesleyan returns to Marion and will co-host a tournament with Taylor next weekend. The IWU/TU Labor Day Challenge will be contested Friday night and midday on Saturday. Indiana Wesleyan will continue a schedule with rigid competition as the team plays No. 22-ranked Point Park (Pa.) and a pair of teams receiving votes in Davenport (Mich.) and Indiana Tech.