ARLINGTON, Va.— The fourth-seeded Marymount (Va.) University women's volleyball team advanced to the semifinals of the Capital Athletic Conference tournament for the first time since 2013 on Tuesday night after defeating fifth-seeded St. Mary's College of Maryland in a five-set thriller, 3-2 (25-16, 18-25, 25-12, 27-29, 15-7).

The Saints took advantage of the rematch after falling short in round one of last year's CAC tournament to the Seahawks in a five-set match at St. Mary's.

Marymount got off to an explosive start in set one, gaining a six-point lead at mid-set, 16-10. The Saints took advantage of a service error by St. Mary's and capitalized with back-to-back kills from senior Emileigh Rettig and sophomore Caroline Hanson. MU continued to be relentless throughout the rest of the set, taking game one in a convincing fashion, 25-16.

In set two, the Saints fell behind early and never overcame the deficit. In a late effort, the Saints pieced together a 3-0 run after seeing back-to-back kills from sophomore Emily Abramaitys and senior Cailyn Thomas, followed by an ace from senior Mallory Mitchell. Marymount dropped set two, 25-18, as the match evened out at a set apiece. 

Marymount picked up the pace in set three by racking up three-straight kills by Abramaitys, Thomas and Mitchell to open the set, 3-0. The blue and white dominated on the offensive end, registering 13 total kills before taking set three, 25-12.

Set four proved to be a tough battle between both squads. The Saints led by as much as five before the Seahawks were able to piece together a comback to tie the set at 20-20. Both teams traded points, forcing the set into extra points before Marymount fell short, 29-27.

MU went to work early in set five piecing together a 5-0 run led by junior Margaret McAlpin who added three kills to take a commanding 12-5 lead. The Saints wasted no time and finished off the Seahawks, 15-7, to take set five and the match, 3-2.

Rettig capitalized on the offensive end to lead the Saints with a match-high 18 kills and played outstanding defense to notch 30 digs, enough to tie for a match high. The offense proved to be effective with three other Saints registering 10 or more kills. Junior Christine Tieman and Hanson each added 39 and 26 assists, respectively. On the defensive end, five different Saints scooped up 20 or more digs, led by Rettig and freshman libero Theresa Buscemi who added 27 digs.

The women will take on top-seeded University of Mary Washington in the semifinal match on Thursday, November 3 in Fredericksburg, Virginia. First serve is set for 7 p.m.