ST. CLOUD, Minn. – From Jenna Karp's demeanor in the timeout huddle, outsiders wouldn't have guessed Central Oklahoma trailed 11-9 in the fifth set of a first-round slugfest with Southwest Minnesota Thursday in the NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament.
The senior middle blocker was dancing – with a big smile to match – as the music blared in Halenbeck Hall.
Head coach Edgar Miraku responded with a high five and soon enough the sixth-ranked Bronchos had stormed back for a 15-12 victory to cap off an epic battle between two teams determined to keep their season alive.
UCO prevailed 25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 25-18, 15-12 over the No. 15 Mustangs, improving to 31-2 while handing Miraku his 300th career win. No. 15-ranked SMSU ended the season 23-6.
"I'm happy, happy, happy for our student-athletes and our team," said Miraku, who is now 300-92 in his 12th year at the helm. "I can't be more happier for the win and getting past the first round.
"Our team has shown tremendous resilience all season long, especially the last several weeks. Sometimes we can come up with all sorts of adjustments as coaches, but if the student-athletes do not have the resiliency that they've shown over and over again it doesn't matter."
It's the first NCAA tournament win since 2015 for the Bronchos, who advanced to Friday's 4 p.m. semifinals against MIAA rival Washburn. The Ichabods knocked off No. 5 Nebraska-Kearney in five sets.
UCO appeared on its way to completing its comeback win after grabbing a 9-5 fifth-set lead on Lari Migliorino's slam dunk at the net, but the Mustangs answered with six unanswered points to go ahead 11-9.
Then came the dancing timeout and a renewed Broncho squad.
Mikaela Garvin drove a kill off an attempted block to make it 11-10, then Migliorino and Sydney Huck teamed up for a block to tie it. An attack error put UCO back on top, Garvin hammered a shot past SMSU's bewildered defense and another miscue made it 14-11.
The Mustangs stayed alive with a point, but Central would not be denied. Migliorino drove a shot down the middle to finish off the thrilling back-and-forth battle and give Miraku his milestone win.
"We weren't playing like we should, but when we had a good flow and started trusting each other then there was no panic," Karp said. "It was pretty easy and calm."
The Bronchos hit just .180 while committing 28 attack errors – the third-most this season – but collected a season-high 123 digs and kept numerous rallies alive with outstanding defensive stands.
Garvin was a force all night, finishing with a match-high 21 kills and .326 attack percentage. Huck had 15 kills, 19 digs and four blocks, with Karp adding 12 kills and Addison Wimmer 10 kills and 18 digs.
UCO also got nine kills and five blocks from Migliorino. Lindsey Houran directed the offense, finishing with 54 assists along with 26 digs. Katie Le (27 digs) and Riley Roberts (19) also came up clutch in the back row.
Central broke on top early in the first set, getting three Garvin kills and a Lee ace in taking a 6-2 lead. The Bronchos had a 16-11 advantage on Houran's dump kill at the net and were up 20-15 after Wimmer's kill down the middle.
SMSU rallied to tie it at 21-all, but followed with an attack error to put Central on top to stay. Migliorino and Huck teamed up for a block and another Mustang error gave the Bronchos a 24-21 lead.
The Mustangs scored to stay alive before Huck ended it with a kill down the sideline. Garvin led the way in the opening set with five kills.
SMSU took the second set to tie it, then ended the third set with a 7-2 run to pull out a 25-23 victory and put the Bronchos on the ropes.
UCO responded in the fourth set.
The Mustangs led 8-5 early before Migliorino had a pair of kills in a 4-1 run that put the Bronchos in front. UCO was up 15-12 after Migliorino's crosscourt kill when SMSU scored three straight to tie it.
Another Migliorino dart and two straight Garvin kills put the Bronchos back in front 18-15. Garvin continued her dominating night with two more kills and a solo block, Le and Wimmer added aces and Karp finished off the match-saving win with back-to-back kills.
