PRESCOTT, Ariz. -- Fans could feel the electricity in the air on Wednesday night inside of Walraven Gymnasium as the Yavapai College volleyball team staged an epic comeback and defeated the conference-leading Arizona Western College Matadors in five sets in what was a wild, intense match. 

"Our team battled through adversity and battled against a tough opponent all night," Head Coach Zachary Shaver said after the win. "I am excited about how we handled the pressure of a big match and look forward to keeping the momentum we have moving forward."

With the victory, the Roughriders avenge an earlier loss to the Matadors (a five-set affair that took place back on September 24) and bring their overall record to 12-11 and ACCAC record to 6-4. 

Sets one and two in the rollercoaster matchup could be categorized as one-sided. In set one, the Matadors jumped out to a 10-5 lead and although the Roughriders made some nice plays to bring the score to 13-11, Arizona Western went on a couple of big runs and eventually ran away with a 25-18 win. 

Set two, however, was Yavapai's turn to dominate and it did so with a complete team effort. Tied 5-5, sophomore middle blocker Paiten Langston and sophomore right hitter Samantha Holman went up for a block, got the point and the Roughriders never trailed again in the set. 

Now up 6-5, freshman outside hitter Kierslynn Wright (who the Matadors had no answer for all night) registered a kill followed by a serve that couldn't be handled and an ace from sophomore libero Brooklyn Holland to go up 10-5. 

After Arizona Western took a timeout, the Roughriders continued to be relentless and saw Wright register a big kill for the 12th point, freshman right hitter RiKenna Curtis smoke one to the floor for the 13th point, Wright take another kill for point 14, Curtis log another kill for point 15, Langston serve up an ace for point 16 and freshman outside hitter Sophia Parlanti come up with a big block for point 17. 

Up 17-8, and after a Matador timeout, the party didn't stop and this time freshman middle blocker Jada Schultz decided to join with three ferocious kills that put Yavapai up 21-10. Holman followed by sending the crowd into a frenzy with a huge block and freshman outside hitter Kate Allan showed perfect ball placement on a kill to put the Roughriders up 23-13. Wright and Curtis then finished the set-two victory off with big kills, respectively, for a 25-15 win. 

Set three was the opposite of the first two as both teams went back-and-forth all the way until the end. After Wright finished off an incredible rally with a big kill, the Roughriders and Matadors found themselves tied 14-14 and eventually wound up tied 23-23. 

Unfortunately for Yavapai, the Matadors took the next two points, winning the set and going up 2-1 in the match. 

If being down 2-1 in sets hadn't set the stage well enough for a Roughrider comeback, being down 12-6 in set four certainly did the trick as Yavapai found itself needing an energy boost to get back into the game. 

The boost wound up coming from the Roughriders' big hitters as Wright spiked one to the gym floor and watched Parlanti log back-to-back kills to bring the set-four score to 13-11. Parlanti continued her big night with a kill and an ace later in the set to tie things up at 18-18. 

With tensions mounting and the intensity from the crowd rising, Yavapai eventually went up 23-21 and looked to be a lock for a winner-take-all fifth set. The Matadors, however, had other plans and took a timeout, promptly scored three-straight points and stood one point away from victory with a 24-23 score. 

Chaos ensued from then on as the Roughriders had to scratch and claw their way back into it and started with a big block from Holman to tie the score at 24-24. 

Now down 25-24, sophomore middle blocker Keyaira Gravitt played hero for Yavapai as she logged a big kill to tie the match at 25-25. Following the Gravitt kill, Parlanti smoked one through a couple of defenders (after an incredible block from Gravitt earlier in the rally) to take a one-point lead and put the Roughriders one point away from set five. 

The Matadors, however, responded to every momentum shift with an equally incredible play as they recorded a nice block and big kill to go up 27-26. 

With their back against the wall once more, the Roughriders put an end to the set-four madness and scored three-consecutive points with kills from Gravitt, Wright and Curtis, respectively, winning the set 29-27 and forcing a winner-take-all fifth set. 

With a raucous crowd loudly and anxiously waiting to celebrate a huge win, the Roughriders started fast in set five and never looked back. Gravitt and Wright teamed up for a big block to go up 5-2 and saw Holman and Schultz do the same later in the set to go up 10-6. 

Now up 10-7, Parlanti dented the gym floor with a kill and registered an ace before watching Holman and Schultz team up on another block to take a commanding 13-7 lead. 

Up 13-7, Wright took over and registered a kill, waited for a quick timeout and sent home the game-winning kill for a 15-9 set-five win and 3-2 match victory, sending the home fans into a wild frenzy. 

With the comeback complete, the Roughriders and Matadors will square off in the rubber match on October 29 at 7 p.m. in Prescott inside of Walraven Gymnasium in what is sure to be another playoff atmosphere. 

Up Next
The Roughriders next match comes Friday at 7 p.m. in Chandler, Arizona, where they will face the No. 18-ranked Chandler-Gilbert Coyotes.