TACOMA, WASH. – The Umpqua women’s volleyball team is moving on to the second round of the Northwest Athletic Conference championship tournament after a sensational comeback victory over Bellevue Thursday morning.

The Lady Riverhawks fell behind after losing each of the first two sets 25-20, but the 0-2 deficit didn’t squash Umpqua’s determination to win.

“We had it in our minds that we didn’t come here to lose and go home,” said Umpqua freshman and Sutherlin High School grad Olivia Gulliford. “It was our goal to only have that one game today and to just finish as strong as we could. So we came out hard and just had that in our minds that we are not going to lose anymore.”

Gulliford led the Riverhawks with 17 kills. She also added 17 digs on the defensive end. Kaysie Cornelio led Umpqua with 18 digs and Dominique Wenzler-Steves played big at the net with two solo blocks and seven block assists.

Shea O’Brien led Bellevue with 13 kills and 20 digs. The Bulldogs committed 23 attack errors against Umpqua and had 10 service errors and eight receiving errors. The Riverhawks were better than Bellevue in each of those categories.

Bellevue was the top team out of the North Region and had been on a hot streak entering post season play. The Bulldogs had won four straight matches and 15 of their last 16. Umpqua was one of the last teams to clinch a playoff berth. The Riverhawks needed a win on the last day of the regular season to get in to the championship tournament.

This is Umpqua’s first appearance in the NWAC championship tournament since 2012 and the first round victory was the Riverhawks’ first since the 2011 season.

Up next, Umpqua will face Lower Columbia, the No. 2 team out of the West Region. The Red Devils defeated Spokane 3-2 in a first round match played at the same time as Umpqua’s. The second round contest will begin at 10 a.m. on Friday.