Smashing comeback

COEUR d'ALENE - North Idaho College was all but dead in the water in the fifth game, trailing 14-9 in the Scenic West Athletic Conference volleyball opener against Utah State University-Eastern on Thursday night at Christianson Gym.

But the Cardinals came out clean on the other side, fending off five match points in the fifth game to beat the Golden Eagles, 25-18, 26-28, 25-27, 25-11, 17-15.

Matilda Altin, a freshman middle blocker from Vallentuna, Sweden, tapped away a ball for the game-winning kill in the fifth game, finishing off an 8-1 run from when the Cardinals (7-4) trailed 14-9.

"It was fun to come back after we were down five," NIC first-year coach Kelsey Stanley said. "It was good. I'm so proud of my girls to overcome that. You know, they never thought they were going to lose this match. They kept pushing, so I'm very proud of how they finished the (fifth) game."

Stanley said during the intermission between the second and third games she encouraged her players to be a bit more aggressive. The Cardinals took the first game 25-18, then it lost the second game 28-26, one which featured four lead changes toward the end of the second game.

"Even at intermission, it was a tie game and we were taking a step back, instead of a step forward and we had to have someone step up and put the ball down," Stanley said. "We told them, 'Don't be afraid. Swing as hard as you can and let it rip, don't hold back. They definitely didn't hold back.'"

Brenna Meehan, a freshman outside hitter from Post Falls High, forcefully put away her sixth kill of the fifth game - and team-leading 21st kill of the match - off the arms of Melissa Judd of the Golden Eagles, for the go-ahead lead at 16-15. Meehan's fifth kill of the game began the rally.

"When we were down that far, it was hard to keep yourself mentally strong," Meehan said. "So I felt my team really needed me to be up there, so I did what I could, tried to put the ball down."

USU-Eastern, which was led in kills by Judd with 18, fell to 6-9.

"We just needed to put the ball down," Golden Eagles coach Chelsey Warburton said. "Just one point, just put it down. We both kept fighting. Obviously they won the points to finish the match. "I think in general, they (NIC) are a good team. They're scrappy, they play hard."

NIC reacted to the win with all six players on the court jumping up and down, then after the match some were yelling in celebration.

"The fans went crazy," Meehan said. "The atmosphere was a lot of fun."

The Cardinals were also down two games to one after losing the third game 27-25, before storming back to win 25-11 in the fourth game.

"It showed how mentally strong we are," Meehan said. "A lot of teams would have folded, being down two (games) to one. It shows how we'll be able to pull through this season and be able to come back when people may not think we'll be able to."

NIC freshman outside hitter Zoia Basargin came up big late in the fifth game, stuffing Jasmi Covington twice in a row to cut the Golden Eagles lead to 14-12. Dzeni Hadzisehovic's hard kill, the last of her 18 in the match, tied the match at 14.

"It was very nervous, because it was our first conference game," said Hadzisehovic, a sophomore right-side hitter from Belgrade, Serbia. "I'm happy with how our team played. I'm so proud of our team coming back."

Brittany Aldridge finished with 12 kills and 13 digs for NIC. Maddi Seidl had 53 assists and 15 digs. Kennedy Chadwick finished with 18 digs and Meehan had 14.

Carly Dalton had 12 kills for USU-Eastern. Mckenzie Burrows finished with 43 assists, Whitney Riffle had three blocks and Koral Gonzalez had 20 digs.

NIC hosts Colorado Northwestern on Saturday.