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Nebraska Wesleyan overcame a 2-0 set deficit to outlast 16th-ranked Pacific Lutheran by scores of 26-28, 24-26, 25-19, 25-14 and 15-12 in a five-set thriller to conclude first round action at the NCAA West Regionals Thursday at Frantz Athletic Court at the University of La Verne.

The only unranked team in the West Region field, the Prairie Wolves completed the comeback by limiting the Lutes to hitting percentages of .100, .049 and .081 in the final three frames to advance to Friday's semifinals.

Pacific Lutheran (20-7) fought off two set points in claim the opening stanza.  Nebraska Wesleyan led 24-23 and 25-24, but the Lutes received kills from Beth Hanna to hold off the Prairie Wolves before eventually claiming the final two points on consecutive errors by NWU to prevail 28-26.

Again the Lutes avoided defeat in the second stanza by reeling off the final three points to go up 2-0.  PLU trailed 19-12 before rallying to take a 22-20 advantage, only to watch NWU retake the lead.  The see-saw affair saw the Prairie Wolves hold set point at 24-23 before Hanna helped reclaim the advantage for the Lutes with kills in two of the final three points to take the set, 26-24.

Undaunted, Nebraska Wesleyan began its comeback with its best offensive output of the match, hitting .361 (16 K, 3 E, 36 TA) to grab leads of 10-5 and 20-14 on its way to a 25-19 triumph.  NWU continued its momentum in the fourth stanza by winning the final eight points of the frame to win 25-14 to force the fifth and deciding set.

PLU took a 7-3 lead before the Prairie Wolves would respond with a 10-2 run to take a 13-9 advantage.  The Lutes would get no closer than two points as Abby Bade concluded action with a kill at 14-12 to propel NWU into the region semifinals.

Statistically, the Prairie Wolves hit .197 while collecting 133 digs and 8 blocks.  By comparison the Lutes hit .120 while registering 123 digs along with 10 blocks on the evening.

Abby Bade led the NWU offense with a match-high 21 kills.  Laura Brameier finished with 19 kills while Cara Ward contributed 11 in the win.   For PLU, Hanna registered a match-high 17 kills with teammate Kelsie Moore adding 16.

Nebraska Wesleyan earns a date with top-seeded and 4th-ranked La Verne in the region semifinals in a rematch of a contest from a month earlier when the Leopards prevailed in three sets.  Start time is 7 pm.