SILVER CITY, N.M. – Trailing by a set heading into the fourth, the Western New Mexico University volleyball team dug deep and came back to take the final two sets and claim a thrilling 3-2 victory (23-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-20, 15-12) Friday night in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action inside Drag's Court.

The first set appeared to be in the hands of the Lady Mustangs (4-5, 1-1 RMAC) as they held a 14-9 lead following back-to-back kills from freshmen Morgan Lyneis (Victorville, CA/Apple Valley) and Heather Verrill (Barstow, CA/Barstow ). The lead was still four at 16-12 on a kill by sophomore Shannon Rich (Folsom, CA/Folsom) when CCU (7-4, 1-1 RMAC) began to climb back. They fought back to tie at 22 and again at 23 before closing the set with a pair of kills from Taylor Sturms for the 25-23 set win.

The Lady Mustangs again opened strong in the second set, with junior Sheila Menezes (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Escola Estadual Prof. Antonio Ablas Filho) giving WNMU a 15-11 lead. The lead would continue to grow, with Lyneis pushing the Lady Mustangs to set point before an attack error sealed the 25-19 set for WNMU.

The Cougars roared out of the gate in the third set, quickly jumping ahead 10-2. WNMU would chip away, getting back to within four at 16-12 on a solo block by freshman Kalie Lyle (Phoenix, AZ/Sandra Day O' Connor ). An attack error brought the Lady Mustangs to within three at 23-20, before CCU would close the set for the 25-21 win.

The fourth was back-and-forth early on, with CCU taking a 12-10 lead. WNMU would turn the momentum with junior Leeta Grap (Kamuela, HI/Hawaii Preparatory Academy) triggering a 6-1 run that Lyle would close with a service ace. Still ahead by three, 22-19, out of a timeout, WNMU continued with the pressure as Menezes tallied a pair of kills around a double-block from Verrill and senior Lauren Buseman (Eagar, AZ/Round Valley) for the 25-20 set win to send the match to a decisive fifth.

Grap pushed the WNMU lead to five early in the fifth with a kill. She would continue with another kill at 9-4. The Cougars wouldn't go away, answering with a 7-2 run to tie the set at 11. Menezes helped break the run with a kill and Grap added one of her own for the 13-11 lead. Rich and Grap would add kills down the stretch to give WNMU the 15-12 set win and 3-2 match victory.

Grap ended up with 17 kills and hit .244 on the night. She also led the team in digs with 21 and added two blocks. Verrill tallied double-digits with 11 kills, while leading the team in blocks with five. Menezes added nine, while Rich tallied eight. Freshman Kylie Fraga (Kennewick, WA/Southridge) posted 26 assists, while freshman Melanie Hughes (Riverside, CA/Martin Luther King Jr.) added 17. WNMU collected 14 service aces as a team, as Hughes had four and Lyle with three.

Sturms led the Cougars in kills with 12 and digs with 17.

Both teams hit right around .170, as CCU hit at .168 clip (54 kills to 25 errors in 173 chances), while WNMU tallied a .169 (57 kills to 27 errors in 178 chances). Blocks were also close with CCU holding a slight 12-11 advantage.

The match Friday for CCU was their seventh straight on the road that has taken them from Florida to Colorado to New Mexico.

WNMU will close their weekend trio of matches on Sunday against Regis beginning at 2 p.m. The Rangers rebounded from a 3-0 loss to Colorado Mesa Thursday with a 3-0 win at Fort Lewis earlier tonight.