GARDEN CITY, New York - NCAA East Regional Champion and an Elite-8 appearance. The #3 Bentley volleyball team made history by achieving both feats for the first time in school history with a four-set win (12-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-23) over #5 Daemen Saturday night.

The Falcons travel to Pittsburgh for the Elite-8, which begins Dec. 7.

Ellie Wheeler finished with a team-high 15 kills for Bentley in the East Regional Championship, and Ingrid Murphy totaled 10. Natalie Thom came away with 19 kills, and Jazzy Burke matched that figure in digs.

The Falcons outlasted an efficient Wildcats team that attacked at a .212 clip in the title game.

Daemen opened the contest with a convincing 25-12 win in the first set. However, as they've done all season, the Falcons remained poised and resilient.

The second set was tightly contested, and the Falcons held an 18-17 lead late in the frame. From there, a Wildcat error sparked a 5-0 Bentley run. Thom served up a couple of aces during that pivotal stretch, and the Falcons won the set by a final of 25-21.

Daemen appeared to reclaim momentum when it jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the third frame. But two kills by Wheeler, one from Rachel Vitko, and a Wildcat error allowed the Falcons to quickly even up the score.

With the scoreboard showing 12-12, Daemen went on a 5-1 run to take a 17-13 lead, and the advantage grew to six points at 21-15. However, several Wildcat miscues allowed the Falcons to cut the deficit. Consecutive kills by Caitlin Wunder brought Bentley to within a point, 22-21, and Ali Stuessi tied the set with an ace. Bentley won the second set, 25-23, when Daemen committed back-to-back errors.

The fourth set had a similar feel to the third when Daemen held a 6-3 lead, but then Bentley went on a 4-0 with two kills by Elizabeth Blinn, and one by both Wunder and Vitko. Neither team led by more than two points until consecutive aces by Blinn gave the Falcons an 18-14 lead. Bentley tacked on another point with a kill by Wunder, making it 19-14.

Still, the Wildcats weren't going down without a fight.

Daemen went on a 6-0 road and reclaimed the lead, 22-21. The teams exchanged one point each, and the Wildcats' lead was 23-22. Daemen then committed an error, sending Burke back to serve. Her first serve was an ace, giving Bentley a 24-23 edge. Her second serve kept Daemen off-balance, and the ball never came back over the net.

The Falcons immediately stormed the court, knowing that they have gone further into the NCAA postseason than any Bentley volleyball team in school history.

Wheeler, Murphy, and Burke were named to the Regional All-Tournament Team.