CARSON, Calif.  The first win of the season was a satisfying one as Western Colorado volleyball scratched and clawed its way to a 3-2 decision Friday over host Cal State University Dominguez Hills in the opening match of the Toro Classic.

Not one of the sets in that match were decided by more than four points.

The Mountaineers were unable to add another victory on the day, however, falling 3-0 to Stanislaus State (Calif.) University in the final match of the opening day of the Classic.

THE ESSENTIALS
Final scores: Western def. CSU Dominguez Hills, 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-12), Stanislaus def. Western, 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-12)
Records: Western 1-5, CSUDH 2-2, Stanislaus 5-1
Event: Toro Classic
Location: Torodome, Carson, Calif.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Western's first win of the season was not for the faint of heart as the victory went the full five sets and at the end, a total of 15 points separated the Mountaineers and Toros.
• The risk-reward at the service line factored into the victory. Though accumulating 19 service errors to just 7 by Dominguez Hills, Western also racked up 13 service aces to only 7 by the Toros. Emily Mangone's consecutive aces midway through the opening set pushed a narrow two-point cushion to four in a set won by two points. And Mangone drilled one down the middle for the match-deciding point in the fifth set.
• The match was tied 22 times during its five sets, but there were only nine lead changes – two each in the first four sets and only one lead change in the deciding fifth.
• Savannah Meyer's tie-breaking kill at 13-13 in the first set provided a lead that, though slim, Western would not relinquish to take the opening set. Similarly, Randi Wellhoefer's kill broke an 8-8 tie in the second set, again giving the Mountaineers a lead that would hold through a set win.
• The deciding set featured an inauspicious start for the Mountaineers as they quickly fell behind, 5-0. A Jaeda Davis-Golliher kill got Western on the board and started what would be a three-point run to get the Mountaineers back into the game.
• The first lead of the final set came at 9-8 on a Jordyn Todd kill, but the Toros would eventually fight back to a 12-12 tie. That would be the last gasp for CSUDH, though, as a Caroline Parker kill broke the tie, a Toro attack error followed to set up match point, and Mangone's ace closed the door.
• Scheduled to play the opening match of the tournament against Dominguez Hills, Western then had to wait more than seven hours before stepping onto the court again for the final match of the opening day, against Stanislaus State.
• The long wait didn't seem to bother the Mountaineers in their first set against the Warriors as Western went toe-to-toe through two-thirds of the set. Leading 19-17, Western then surrendered a 5-0 run to the Warriors who would eventually take the opening set scoring eight of the last 11 points.
• The momentum Stanislaus had gained at the end of the set continued into the second set with an 8-1 opening run. Western would climb back to within three at 10-7 but that would be the narrowest of margins over the reminder of the set. And though the Mountaineers hung more closely with the Warriors through almost the midway point of the third set, Stanislaus would break away from a narrow three-point lead (12-9) with a 13-3 finishing run to capture the set and match.

NET NUMBERS

• Mangone (a game-best 15) and Davis-Golliher (10) would register double-digit kills in the victory over the host Toros. Mangone would add 5 more in the match against Stanislaus with Davis-Golliher racking up 7 more. Parker would finish the day with a cumulative 15 kills to reach double figures for the day.
• Elizabeth Rupprecht finished Friday with a total of 24 digs to lead the defensive efforts. On top of her game-high kills total against CSUDH, Mangone would collect 19 digs before adding in 5 more in the nightcap.
• The Mountaineers outpaced Dominguez Hills defensively at the net in the opener, coming away with one solo block and 18 block assists for a match-best 10.0 team blocks. Six of the BAs in the match came from Wellhoefer with Parker earning four.
• As productive as its 13 service aces were in the win over the Toros, Western mustered just 2 in the loss to Stanislaus.

UP NEXT
Western will finish off its Classic stay at Dominguez Hills with a 12 p.m. MT match against No. 25 Winona State (Minn.) University.