ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Kaitlyn Parrott was everywhere defensively and Georgia Ahlert delivered another clutch fifth-set performance as Central Oklahoma slipped past upstart Fort Hays State in the semifinals of the MIAA Volleyball Championship Friday night.
The No. 24-ranked and fifth-seeded Bronchos subdued the eighth-seeded Tigers 13-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-23, 20-18, with Ahlert smacking down three straight kills to finish off a come-from-behind triumph in the final set. Parrott was all over the court in digging up an amazing 47 FHSU attacks – the second-most single-match digs in school history.
It was the second consecutive five-set thriller for UCO, which upended fourth seed and No. 13-rated Emporia State Thursday. The Bronchos, now 23-7, will take on sixth-seeded Pittsburg State in Saturday's 6 p.m. finals. PSU has beaten the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds in making the title match.
The tournament champion earns the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship.
"That was an unbelievable match and both teams played with incredible effort," said head coach Edgar Miraku, whose team is 18-4 in five-set matches over the last four years. "It looked like we were down and out a few times, but our girls just kept fighting.
"I can't say enough about how hard we played and the energy it took. We've had two really tough matches that have taken a lot out of us, but I know we'll come out ready to go again tomorrow."
It was a total team effort by the Bronchos, who once again got contributions throughout the lineup.
Ahlert led the way with 19 kills, six of those coming in the fifth set. Myla Unterweger knocked down 17 attacks, while Sawyer Franz had 13 kills with two blocks and Kate Wells 11 kills with five blocks.
Parrott's masterful 47-dig night paced the defense, while four other players had double-digit digs – Riley Roberts (17), Jordyn Baker (17), Morgan Manning (14) and Emma Halstead (13). Roberts dealt out 57 assists in directing the offense after handing out a career-high 59 in the Emporia win.
The Bronchos fell behind early in the fifth set and were down 9-7 before Ahlert and Unterweger teamed up for a block to ignite a 4-0 run. That put UCO up 11-9, but the Tigers answered with a 5-1 spurt to take a 14-12 lead and were serving for the match.
Wells kept Central alive with a solo block, an attack error tied it and Franz knocked down a kill to put the Bronchos ahead 15-14. The drama continued as FHSU tied it at 15, again at 16 and once more at 17 before going up 18-17.
That's when Ahlert took over, slamming down three straight monster kills off Roberts passes to carry UCO to the climactic ending.
The Bronchos got off to a slow start in the match, committing 11 attack errors in the first set as FHSU opened with an easy win.
UCO looked like it would roll in the second set after taking a 15-8 lead on an Unterweger kill, but the Tigers used an 11-3 run to go ahead 19-18. The Bronchos came right back, getting three kills from Franz to move in front 22-19 and went on to even the match with the 25-23 victory.
Fort Hays took the third set and then grabbed a quick 7-1 lead in the fourth to put UCO on the ropes.
The Bronchos bounced off the canvas, getting two kills from Wells in an 8-1 run to go ahead 9-8 and it was tied at 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13. UCO broke that final deadlock on back-to-back Ahlert aces to take the lead for good and had a 22-17 cushion after Taylor Fenton and Wells teamed up for a block.
Three straight FHSU points made it 22-20, but Ahlert had two kills and Unterweger another as the Bronchos held on for another 25-23 win that forced the decisive set.
