comeback
comeback at Wazzu is a file of 3 stories. The newest of them: “Reverse Sweep Complete: Volleyball Punches Back at Boise”, “Fifita shakes off the rust, hits Smith twice to flip the script on Arizona”, and “Five sets, no quit: Cougar volleyball leaves it all on the floor”. Boise State had the Cougs on the ropes. Jackquintin Bal saw it coming before Noah Fifita let it go. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every comeback story on Wazzu, newest first.
Reverse Sweep Complete: Volleyball Punches Back at Boise
Boise State had the Cougs on the ropes. Wazzu volleyball dropped the first two sets on the road Wednesday night, staring down what looked like a clean sweep the other way. Then they decided they weren't done. The Cougs punched back, hard, rattling off three straight to complete the reverse sweep and walk out of Boise with the win. That kind of grit is what you remember when the schedule gets long. You can catch the full travel details and what the team had to say in our earlier piece, "Cougs hit the road and left an impression on Boise State," for the drive-by-drive. For now, just know this: they got punched, they stood up, and they finished it. That matters more than the final line score ever could. It is exactly the kind of fight you want to see before the Pac-12 slate tips off, speaking of which, keep an eye out for the women's basketball tip times we published, because the whole athletic department seems to be finding its stride right now. This volleyball squad is playing like they know something we don't. Go Cougs.
Fifita shakes off the rust, hits Smith twice to flip the script on Arizona
Jackquintin Bal saw it coming before Noah Fifita let it go. The Washington State safety jumped the route, snatched the ball, and ran 25 yards untouched into the end zone. That pick-six put the Cougs up 14-0 early. It felt like one of those nights in Pullman where the old magic shows up. Then the second quarter happened. Fifita shook off the rust. Arizona's veteran quarterback started slow, but he found Caleb Smith for a 41-yard bomb, then hit him again for a 38-yard touchdown on the very next play. By the fourth quarter, Fifita was dropping a pinpoint over-the-shoulder pass to Isaiah Mizell for an 11-yard score. He finished 22 of 36, 297 yards, four touchdowns. The Wildcats erased that 14-point deficit and never looked back. Bal still had a night. The Arizona State transfer led the team with nine tackles, nearly grabbed a second pick in the end zone, and made open-field stops all over the field. But one great individual performance doesn't win a game when the other side's quarterback finds his rhythm. For the full story on how that early lead slipped away, check out "Cougs jump Arizona early, then watch a 14-point lead dissolve." The script flipped. Fifita improved to 2-0 in Pullman. That one stings. Go Cougs.
Five sets, no quit: Cougar volleyball leaves it all on the floor
Five sets. No quit. That's the story of Cougar volleyball right now, and it's the kind of thing that makes you proud to be a Coug even when you're miles from Bohler Gym. This team left everything on the floor, and if you watched, you felt it. They didn't just play hard. They played through the kind of fatigue that makes your legs forget what fresh feels like. And they kept swinging. That kind of grit doesn't happen by accident. It starts with the coaching staff setting the standard and the players buying in. If you want the full breakdown on how the win came together, the adjustments, the moments that mattered, head over to Kirby Moore's piece on the game. He gets into what it took to get there, and it's worth your time. This is a group that doesn't flinch. They've been tested, and they keep answering. Whether you were in the stands or watching from your couch in Seattle, this one hit different. The Cougs are showing up. They're fighting. And when you see that kind of effort, you don't need to say much else. Go Cougs.