MONMOUTH, Oregon --- It was looking bleak for the Western Oregon volleyball team as it found itself down 20-17 to Simon Fraser in the third set after dropping the first two sets and facing a sweep at home.

But the Wolves showed no quit, rallied in the third set, against rallied and edged the Red Leafs in the fourth set (fighting off multiple match points) and dominated the fifth set to beat SFU 3-2 (22-25, 16-25, 25-23, 26-24, 15-6) Thursday at New PE Building.

The victory moves WOU to 7-9 overall - the most wins for the program since 2017 - and to 3-5 in GNAC action.

The rally in the third started on back-to-back SFU (6-11, 3-5) errors as WOU eventually trailed 22-21 before going on a 3-0 burst that included a Sophie Matlock ace and a Sarah Crowell kill. After a Red Leafs kill, Crowell put the set away with a thunderous kill assisted by Emily West to make it 2-1 SFU.

The fourth set was tightly contested until the Wolves pulled out to a 19-14 lead after a Bailee Hartsook kill, a Matlock ace and a SFU attack error. However, SFU rallied and had two match points at 24-22 and 24-23 with a kill from Emily Olson and an attack error denying the Red Leafs the match. Madison Hornback and Bella MacLellan closed out a 4-0 set-ending run with back-to-back kills to make the final 26-24 and set up a fifth and deciding set.

The Red Leafs actually scored the first two points of the fifth set, but were outscored 15-4 the rest of the way - capped by an Ally Henry ace that hit the tape and crept over the net for match point.

Crowell paced WOU with 17 kills to go along with five blocks, Delaney Smith had 13 kills compared to just one error and a .462 hitting percentage (along with five blocks), Hornback had 10 kills and 13 digs and Hartsook finished with nine kills. West finished with a team-high 29 assists while Laney O'Neil had 25 assists. Henry finished with 18 digs and three aces while Matlock also had three aces.

WOU returns to action 7 p.m. Saturday in Monmouth against Western Washington.