The Blue Streaks knew going into the final week of the regular season that they would need at least one win to qualify for the Ohio Athletic Conference postseason tournament.

They got that victory in dramatic fashion, regrouping after squandering a two set lead to win a tension-filled final frame over Heidelberg Tuesday evening at the DeCarlo Varsity Center.

John Carroll earned a 25-22, 25-18, 14-25, 19-25, 17-15 win over the Berg, which enabled the Blue Streaks to qualify for the OAC playoffs.

The teams traded the lead several times in the opening game, but the Blue Streaks pulled away midway through and maintained a safe cushion once they built a 21-16 advantage.

JCU was incredible efficient in that first game, getting 16 kills against just one error in 30 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage. Cassi Calamunci and Brooke Hjerpe each had five kills.

The second set went well for the John Carroll, as it led wire-to-wire in taking a two set advantage, 25-18. Calamunci once again was stellar with five kills and seven digs in set two.

The third set was the exact opposite from the first and second. Heidelberg rolled out to a 16-5 advantage and cruised to an 11-point win. The Berg had a .278 hitting percentage in the set while JCU was held to a .021 clip.

Heidelberg again got out to a quick start, taking a 7-1 lead int he fourth set, but this time John Carroll caught and passed the Berg. The Blue Streaks took an 11-9 lead but the momentum was short lived. The Student Princes scored 11 of the next 14 points and forced a game five.

The fifth set began like the third and fourth, with the visitors jumping out to an 8-4 lead. The teams switched sides, and so did momentum. Behind Sarah Calabrese serving, JCU rallied to tie the set at 8-8.

From that point on, neither team was up by more than two points. Heidelberg served for the match at 14-13 and 15-14, but kills by Calamunci and Carleen Ellerbruch kept John Carroll in the match.

After winning a point at 15-15 that was overturned and then overturned again, Brooke Hjepre came through with the match-winning point.

The win over Heidelberg was just the second victory by JCU in the series in the last 16 meetings and the first home win over the Berg since 2005.

John Carroll, which improved to 18-10 overall and 2-6 in the OAC, was led by 23 kills from Calamunci, 15 from Hjerpe and 12 from Calabrese. Ally Bartolone had a career-high 52 assists, and Calamunci was one dig shy of her career-high in digs with 22. Calabrese and Sarah Parey each had three aces

Heidelberg, which fell to 21-6 overall and 5-3 in the OAC, got team-high totals of 16 kills and 19 digs from Taylor Valentine.

JCU visits Wilmington on Saturday.