PULLMAN — It was a career watershed for a group of dedicated fifth-year seniors, a record-breaking night for Magda Jehlarova and a birthday present to coach Jen Greeny all wrapped up in one as the Washington State Cougars topped the Dayton Flyers 3-1 in second-round NCAA tournament volleyball play on Saturday at a packed Bohler Gym.

The 25-21, 25-15, 20-25, 25-16 victory put the No. 10 Cougs (26-7) through to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2018. They will now travel to face No. 4 Pittsburgh (27-4) on Thursday in search of a spot in the national quarterfinals.

Cougs prove fearsome

Washington State electrified the partisan home crowd with aggressive play to rapidly rattle off the first four points of the match. Dayton (31-3) would spend the rest of the opening set playing catch-up — twice knotting things up, but never taking the lead — before WSU slammed the door late. The second set progressed much like the first with WSU opening an early lead, but this time the Cougs never let the Flyers into it.

Dayton found its first lead of any set for the night early in the third, and determined defense and an improved serving performance helped the Flyers battle through to force a fourth. There, WSU would promptly restore order, rolling through the first three points and leading all the way.

“Dayton is fantastic team, and we talked about it in game-break (between the second and third sets) that they would respond,” Greeny said. “They certainly did. I think they really put pressure on us from the service line. Really adjusting to that in the fourth set, I think our passers did a better job of relaxing and passing just a little bit better.”

The Cougars showed more versatility than the Flyers on the court, with setter Argentina Ung’s smooth and unpredictable direction of the ball backed up by several powerhouse hitters giving them plenty of options. As a team, Washington State had a small-but-meaningful edge in nearly every statistical category, leading in kills (52-46), aces (7-5), blocks (12-7) and assists (48-45), with Dayton’s lone advantage coming in digs (52-50). The result snapped a 27-match winning streak for Dayton, which lost only to NCAA Top 25 teams this season.

Veterans break through

At the forefront of the Cougar effort were fifth-year seniors Jehlarova, Pia Timmer, Argentina Ung, Iman Isanovic and Julia Norville — a class of players who had been part of NCAA tournament-qualifying teams every year of their careers, but never progressed past the second round there. Greeny had cited the goal of reaching the Sweet 16 as a driving factor behind the group’s shared choice to return for another season,

“We’ve been wanting this since forever,” Ung said.

Jehlarova amassed a double-double of 15 kills and 10 blocks without registering a single error, and reached an NCAA-record career total of 757 blocks in the process. Timmer had her own double-double of 12 kills and 11 digs. Isanovic added another 11 kills, Norville put up 10 digs, and Ung dealt out a whopping 42 assists while notching eight digs, seven blocks and five kills to boot.

Adieu to Bohler; gift to Greeny

Signs waved by the cheerleaders calling for “NOISE” were heeded by fans to sometimes-deafening effect throughout the match. Also audible were scattered choruses of “Happy Birthday,” sung in honor of Greeny.

“It’s a good birthday present,” she said of the victory. “(The players) all chipped in; got me a gift.”

Much as they had done the previous night after defeating Grand Canyon in their tournament opener, the Cougars ran a celebration lap high-fiving spectators, band members and officials following the conclusion of their final home match of the season. It was both an ecstatic and a bittersweet moment for many present, such Jehlarova, who was overcome with tears.

Much as this moment marked a breakthrough for their program, however, the Cougs’ journey is not yet over. Greeny joked that a ticket to Pittsburgh would be “just a small cost” for faithful supporters who wanted to continue that journey with them.

A win against Pittsburgh, which defeated USC in four sets for its own Sweet 16 berth, would put the Cougs through to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2002. WSU has never reached the NCAA semifinals.

“This was definitely a goal to get there, but our goal is beyond next Thursday as well,” Greeny said. “We’ll prepare just like we have done for every team. We’ll get on the road and travel, take our homework with us, and see what we can do.”