Box Score

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Nov. 5) -- Junior Jordan Offutt (Leavenworth/Cascade HS) erupted for a match-high 21 kills, and hit at a .383 percentage, but the Central Washington University volleyball team was unable to complete a road sweep of the Alaska schools in falling in five sets to the University of Alaska Anchorage 25-21, 22-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-11 on Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

The loss drops the Wildcats' overall record to 13-11 and their Great Northwest Athletic Conference record to 7-9, meaning CWU must sweep its two remaining matches next week to finish .500 or better in conference play for the 12th consecutive season. Alaska Anchorage, ranked ninth in the NCAA Division II West Region, improved to 17-7 overall and 13-3 in the GNAC.

Offutt, who tied her career-high with the 21 kills, also posted her most efficient hitting percentage in nearly a month by committing just three errors in 47 attempts. She and sophomore Erin Smith (Selah) helped carry the Wildcat offense, as Smith added 12 kills, a .385 percentage, and six total blocks.

The match saw a total of 25 ties and 11 lead changes through the five sets, and neither team finished with more than a four-point final margin of victory in any of the frames. In the decisive fifth set, CWU trailed 8-2 before a 7-3 run brought the Wildcats to within two. However, consecutive points by the host Seawolves made it 13-9, and the teams traded the final four points with UAA winning on a kill by Jackie Matthisen.

Central Washington hit better than .200 in three of the five sets, including a match-best .239 mark in the first frame. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, however, Alaska Anchorage had 18 kills without an error (and a .514 percentage) in winning that set, and CWU was outhit in the fifth set by .286 to .077.

Defensively, the Wildcat blockers had their best match of the season, totaling 14 blocks. Freshman Cheltzie Williams (Twin Falls, Idaho) led the charge there, with a career-high eight blocks, followed by Smith and sophomore Emmy Dolan (Castle Rock) with six apiece. Freshman Kaely Kight (Spokane/Mead HS) led three Wildcats in double figures in digs with 23, while junior Marcy Hjellum (Kennewick/Kamiakin HS) and senior Meg Ryan (Spokane/Mead HS) were next with 17 and 12, respectively.

Alaska Anchorage finished the match with a .238 hitting percentage and was led by four starters with 10 or more kills. Matthisen went for 20 kills and 17 digs, while Robyn Burton had 17 kills and a .400 hitting percentage. Ariel Austin had 14 kills and eight blocks, and Nikkie Viotto amassed 11 kills and 11 digs. Quincy Haught led all players with 32 digs for UAA.

Central Washington will play its final two matches of the 2011 season inside Nicholson Pavilion next week, hosting archrival Western Washington on Thursday (Nov. 10) and Simon Fraser on Saturday (Nov. 12). Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m.