SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – There would be no fifth-set magic for Central Oklahoma this time around.
The No. 6-ranked Bronchos won three straight five-set marathons in capturing last week's Central Regional title, but finally ran out of steam in heartbreaking fashion against No. 21 San Francisco State Thursday in the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship quarterfinals.
UCO appeared poised for a sweep after taking the first two sets 25-20, 25-13 only to see the Gators pull out narrow 25-23, 26-24 wins in the next two to even the match. SFSU took the deciding set 15-10 to finish off the comeback and move into Friday's semifinals against Angelo State.
The Bronchos ended their best-ever season at 33-3, a school record for wins.
"I thought we opened up fairly well," head coach Edgar Miraku said. "The second set was a little lopsided and I think it affected both teams in different ways. Both sets, three and four, we did a good job coming from behind and we had our chances in those, but it came down to a couple of execution plays.
"I know without a doubt they tried hard. They did their best and gave everything they had. It was just not our night tonight. We've been on the other side of that multiple times this year."
Five players had double-digit kills for the Bronchos, led by Jenna Karp with 17 to go along with four blocks.
Sydney Huck and Addison Wimmer collected 14 kills apiece, with Huck adding 18 digs, four blocks and two service aces. Lari Migliorino hit .345 with 12 kills and Mikaela Garvin chipped in 10 kills.
Katie Le was at her defensive best in the back row, coming up with numerous acrobatic saves in racking up a career-high 33 digs in her final match. Riley Roberts (12 digs) and Kaitlyn Parrott (10) also helped out on the back row
Lindsey Houran collected 55 assists and added 15 digs in running the UCO offense. She finished eighth on the school's single-season assists list with 1,446.
Wimmer had three quick kills to open the first set as UCO grabbed a 5-2 lead, but the Gators scored three straight to tie it and then forged ahead 12-9 to force a Broncho timeout.
Huck came out of the break with a kill just inside the endline and followed with an ace before Wimmer's shot down the middle tied it at 12-all. It was deadlocked again at 13 and 14 before UCO took the lead for good at 15-14 on Migliorino's smash down the middle.
The Bronchos pushed the advantage to 20-16 on Garvin's corner kill, with Karp, Huck and Wimmer knocking down kills the rest of the way as UCO closed out the set.
It was back-and-forth in the early going of the second set before the Bronchos took control.
An SFSU attack error ignited a 9-0 run that turned an 8-8 tie into a big 17-8 UCO cushion. Le was on serve for eight of those points, with Karp knocking down two kills and teaming with Huck for a block.
Karp added four more kills the rest of the way as the Bronchos finished off the rout that put them on the cusp of a sweep.
But the Gators had other plans.
SFSU stayed alive with the third-set win, then prevailed in a fourth-set thriller to tie the match.
The Gators led 19-17 in the fourth, but a Huck kill ignited a 4-0 run that put UCO on top 21-19. SFSU pulled even at 21, then went ahead 23-22 before Karp's kill off a block tied it again.
It was deadlocked at 24 after Wimmer hammered down a kill, but an attack error gave the Gators the lead and they finished off the set with a kill.
The Bronchos never led in the final set as they saw their dream season end.
"We felt good coming in," Karp said. "We felt excited, felt that all the preparation we had done, all the fighting back, all the five sets, would prepare us even more for this weekend because we've been through so much. Our team wanted more. We fought so hard."
"You can't win all five set matches," Le said. "It sucks, but we've been on the other side of it. It just wasn't our day. We fought really hard. This season has been incredible and something I couldn't even imagine when I came here four years ago."
It marked the final match for five seniors – Garvin, Karp, Le, Wimmer and Brynn Egger. Le finished fifth on UCO's career digs list with 1,742, while Karp ended up fifth in solo blocks (79) and ninth in assisted blocks (283).
UCO not only set a school record for wins, but also won the MIAA Tournament title and Central Region championship for the first time ever
"Looking at the season, I couldn't be more proud of our student-athletes," Miraku said. "They achieved something pretty amazing when you consider the wear and tear of the season and playing in the conference and region we do. It was a special group and a special season."
