LACEY, Wash. – Dropping the first set and being forced to a deciding fifth did not deter the Western Oregon volleyball team in taking a thrilling match Saturday night at Saint Martin's. The Wolves won the match 3-2 (17-25, 25-20, 25-21, 24-26, 15-10) at Marcus Pavilion in GNAC play.
 
Three Wolves (5-6/2-2 GNAC) tallied double digits in kills on the night as Alisha Bettinson led all players with a career-high 27 on 71 attempts. Paige Orth and Mariella Vandenkooy had 14 and 10 kills, respectively. Maddie Mehciz led the WOU attack with 58 assists while Christie Colasurdo led three defenders in double figures with 19 digs as Libbie Hoene added 17 digs.
 
In the opening set, the Saints (5-3/1-3 GNAC) controlled the pace after jumping out to a 6-2 lead and never looked back. Western Oregon was able to slice a nine-point deficit down to three with a 7-1 run, anchored by three Bettinson kills and two from Orth. SMU had a 3-0 run to get to 22-15 and another three-point spurt to close out the first set, 25-17. The Saints outhit WOU .354 to .111 in the game while forcing seven errors.
 
Set two was nearly the opposite of the first, as the Wolves took early advantages only to see the hosts play catch up. At 12-all, Orth began a 5-0 Wolves rally with two kills that were followed by an Amanda Short kill and two Hoene aces. SMU rallied with four points before the Wolves 10 of the next 16 points to grasp the set win, 25-20.
 
While the Wolves once again jumped out to a lead in the third, as the Wolves broke a 5-all stalemate with three straight points on an Orth kill, a Saints' error and a big swing from Katherine Huntington. After the Saints closed within a point (13-12), Western Oregon reeled off five straight points including two kills from Mehciz and a Hoene ace. SMU tried a late rally, but it fell short when an attack error gave WOU the game, 25-21.
 
Western Oregon looked to close the match out in four sets and everything looked well with the score at 19-13 after kills from Short and Bettinson. Saint Martin's shifted into another gear offensively while ramping up the defense to come back and take the fourth set, 26-24. SMU posted its best single-game hitting percentage at .414 while forcing eight WOU miscues.
 
To open the fifth, Western Oregon grabbed the first five points, paced by three Bettinson kills. After three more kills put Bettinson at six for the set, the Wolves led 9-2. An attack error and two kills brought the Saints within four, 9-5, and forced a timeout. Mehciz spread the ball out feeding kills to Short, Vandenkooy, Orth and Bettinson to put the Wolves at match point. Although the first match point went by, Western Oregon would not be denied as the final attack from SMU was an error to give WOU the set 15-10 and the match win.
 
Saint Martin's was led by Rebecca Mitchell with 14 kills and Rachel Gondrezick with 13 kills.
 
Western Oregon returns home for two matches next week, beginning Thursday, Sept. 30 against Simon Fraser at 7 p.m.