Coe College has been a member of the Iowa Conference since 1997, and in all that time the Kohawks have never won the conference volleyball tournament despite having some strong teams.

They hope to change all that Saturday night.

The Kohawks marched into the IIAC tournament finals with a convincing 25-17, 25-13, 25-19 victory over Central College in the semifinals Thursday night at Eby Fieldhouse.

Coe (27-8) will host Buena Vista (25-10) for the title Saturday at 7 p.m., with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III postseason tournament.

"It will be fun," said senior Alissa Wittenburg. "We're going to bring everything we have. All four years we've been working for this."

The Kohawks won the Iowa Conference regular-season title this season with a perfect 7-0 league record. They reached the tournament finals last year, but lost to Wartburg on the road.

"This is what we've worked for all season," said Coe Coach DeAnn Woodin. "I know the girls will be ready to go."

The Kohawks defeated Buena Vista, 3-1, during the regular season at Eby Fieldhouse. Now they'll meet again in the biggest match of the year so far.

The Kohawks set a school record last year with 33 wins, but fell short in the conference finals. They've talked all year about getting back to the championship match and winning it.

"It's our motivation," said Wittenburg. "It's everything we've always wanted."

Mackenzie Harbaugh, who ranks eighth in the nation with 1,241 assists, collected 27 assists Thursday to help lead the attack. Wittenburg finished with 19 digs and Olivia Glaudel had 13 digs.

Rachel Schaefer, the all-time kills leader at Coe, contributed 10 kills. Brianna Smith had seven kills, Meghan McClimon five kills, Rachel Bosworth five kills and Ali Arns 10 digs.

Woodin called a timeout in the first game after Central (21-10) had pulled within 20-17. The Kohawks responded with five straight points to win the set, 25-17.

The Kohawks dominated the second game, 25-13, but they ran into a spot of trouble in the third game and trailed 9-6 before storming back for a 25-19 victory.  McClimon ended the match with a kill.

Coe received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament in 2006 in Woodin's first year as head coach, but the Kohawks do not want to wait and hope for an invitation. They want to win the tournament Saturday night and celebrate with an automatic berth.

"We've got to make it happen for ourselves," said Wittenburg. "We'll have our crowd, we'll have people cheering for us. It will be fun."

This is Coe's 18th year in the Iowa Conference. They are the top seed in the tournament and they are playing at home against a team they've already beaten. They feel now is the time to claim that elusive IIAC crown.

"That's the plan," said Woodin. "It's postseason. It's whoever shows up and plays good volleyball.

"I hope it will be electric (at Eby Fieldhouse)," she said. "I hope fans come out and support us."