Box Score

ELLENSBURG (Sept. 30) -- The Central Washington University volleyball team hit .277 as a team and took advantage of 23 hitting errors and 11 service errors by Western Oregon University as the Wildcats cruised to their fourth straight 3-0 sweep in a 25-18, 25-16, 25-12 defeat of the Wolves on Thursday night at Nicholson Pavilion.

The Wildcats (6-5, 4-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) moved one-half match ahead of the Wolves in the conference standings, and are now in at least a tie for third in the ten-team league approaching the midway point. Western Oregon fell to 6-6 overall and 4-3 in the GNAC.

Central, which has now won 12 consecutive sets with 3-0 wins in each of the past four matches, did not trail in either of the first two sets and scored 13 of the first 15 points in Thursday's match. After hitting just .195 in the opening set, they improved upon their offensive numbers with a .240 mark in the second set and took capitalized on 10 hitting and six service errors by the Wolves in the second frame in rolling to the nine-point victory.

In the final frame, the two teams were tied three times and there were two lead changes before the Wildcats coasted down the stretch. They overcame their final deficit of 3-2 with four straight points, and after WOU closed to within 9-7, Central went on a 16-5 run to finish off the match as their offense sizzled with its best sequence of the night with a .529 hitting percentage including just one attack error.

For the match as a whole, CWU had 29 kills with just six hitting errors, and the Wildcats outscored the Wolves 16-9 on service (five CWU aces, 11 WOU errors). Central also outdug the visitors by a 42-39 count while the blocking department was minimized for both teams with just two blocks apiece.

Individually, Central was led by junior Meg Ryan (Spokane/Mead HS), who finished with 10 kills, a .360 percentage, and nine digs. Senior Kady Try (Brentwood, Calif./Mead HS) followed with six kills, and setter Carlee Marble (La Conner) had three kills, 21 assists, and eight digs in the three-set match. Two-time Division II All-American libero Brandie Vea (Honolulu, Hawaii/Kalani HS) totaled a match-high 16 digs for the Wildcats.

Western Oregon was keyed by the play of sophomore Danielle Reese, who had a team-high nine kills and three aces but also committed nine hitting errors for an even .000 percentage. Stephanie Beeler added seven kills for the visitors, who were led defensively by libero Megan Triggs' 11 digs in two sets played.

Central Washington will wrap up its season-long four-match home stand on Saturday night (Oct. 2) with its annual Dig Pink Night at Nicholson Pavilion. The Wildcats, who host Saint Martin's for the 7 p.m. match, will wear pink uniforms in support of Breast Cancer Awareness.