Box Score

NAMPA, Idaho (Oct. 23) -- The combination of seniors Kady Try (Brentwood, Calif./Mead HS) and Kristel Baeckel (Gresham, Ore./Sam Barlow HS) totaled 29 kills and hit .355 as the Central Washington University volleyball team returned to the win column with a 26-28, 25-16, 25-16, 25-15 road victory over Northwest Nazarene University on Saturday night at the Johnson Sports Center.

The win pushed CWU back over the .500 mark at 9-8 overall (7-5 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play) and snapped a three-match road winless streak. NNU, meanwhile, fell to 5-14 overall and 5-8 in the GNAC.

Try finished with 19 kills, eight digs, and a .366 percentage, while Baeckel added 10 kills and hit .333 as the duo combined for nearly two-thirds of Central's 47 kills in the four-set match.

The first set, which was the highest-scoring set this season in a match involving the Wildcats, saw a total of 11 ties and three lead changes and three set points fought off by CWU. However, consecutive points by the host Crusaders on a kill and a block enabled the hosts to take an early 1-0 match lead.

Central controlled play the rest of the way. The Wildcats overcame a 5-3 deficit in the second set with five consecutive points and claimed a nine-point win in the frame despite their lowest single-set efficiency of the match at .088. They did not trail over again after breaking a 4-4 tie in the third set, easing past Northwest Nazarene with a .269 hitting percentage in the third and a .424 efficiency with just three errors in the fourth.

The Wildcats controlled the service line on Saturday, finishing with 10 aces and just five errors while NNU had just three aces while committing 11 service errors. Baeckel set the stage with four aces for CWU, while junior Meg Ryan (Spokane/Mead HS) and freshman Chelsie Vea (Honolulu, Hawaii/Kalani HS) added three aces apiece. Ryan (seven kills) and freshman Erin Smith (Selah; five kills) joined in the offensive parade for Central, while junior setter Carlee Marble (La Conner) finished with 41 assists.

Defensively, senior Brandie Vea (Honolulu, Hawaii/Kalani HS) led a trio of Wildcats in double figures for digs with a match-high 18. Marble and Ryan added 12 digs each as Central edged NNU by a 65-60 count in the dig department, and Smith finished with five total blocks to aid a 10-7 blocking advantage for the Wildcats.

Becky Flores had 11 kills and 12 digs for Northwest Nazarene, while Carly Dranginis added 10 kills in a losing effort.

Central Washington remains on the road next week before playing three of its final four matches of the 2010 campaign at home inside Nicholson Pavilion. Following trips to Saint Martin's and Western Oregon next week, the Wildcats will next play at home on Nov. 4 against the Alaska Nanooks.