Box Score

ELLENSBURG (Sept. 15) -- Sophomore Erin Smith (Selah) finished with 10 kills and a .435 hitting percentage, but the Central Washington University volleyball team was unable to keep up offensively with a hot-hitting Seattle Pacific University squad in falling to the 16th-ranked Falcons, 23-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-17, on Thursday night at Nicholson Pavilion.

The Wildcats fell to 6-4 overall and 1-2 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, while Seattle Pacific won its GNAC opener (1-0) and is now 6-3 on the season.

"SPU was more efficient in the critical times," CWU head coach Mario Andaya said. "We attacked well, but in key rallies, we lost composure and gave up soft attacks which they capitalized on."

Central Washington got off to a great start in the first set of the night, leading nearly from start to finish. After surrendering the first point of the frame, the Wildcats took the lead at 2-1 and then for good at 3-2, jumping ahead by as many as six before allowing Seattle Pacific to rally back. CWU had four set points before escaping with a two-point win -- a victory that the Wildcats accomplished with a balanced offensive attack.

Seattle Pacific started the second set with three straight points, which Central Washington matched, and the lead see-sawed back and forth until SPU scored four straight tallies to break a 6-6 tie. The Falcons went ahead by as many as five points before finishing off the set with five of the final six tallies for an eventual eight-point win.

The third set was the most efficient for both teams. While the Wildcats hit .186 with 15 kills, Seattle Pacific had 16 kills and hit .452 to emerge from a set that featured 13 ties and six lead changes with a 2-1 match lead. That offensive efficiency continued for the visitors in the fourth and final set, in which they hit .350 with 18 kills and closed out CWU.

Smith was one of three Wildcat players to reach double figures in kills, and was the team's most efficient hitter for the match with no errors in 23 attempts. Junior Jordan Offutt (Leavenworth/Cascade HS) finished with a team-high 13 kills and freshman Cheltzie Williams (Twin Falls, Idaho) added 10.

The Wildcats finished the match with a hitting disadvantage of nearly 200 percentage points. CWU hit .141 on the night, hampered by 12 Seattle Pacific blocks that accounted for nearly half of the Wildcats' 28 hitting errors. Central Washington was also outdug by a 76-63 margin and finished with 12 fewer kills that Seattle Pacific (64-52). In the dig department, sophomore Chelsie Vea (Honolulu, Hawaii/Kalani HS) finished with 15 digs and junior Marcy Hjellum (Kennewick/Kamiakin HS) added 12. Senior setter Carlee Marble (La Conner) registered 48 assists and eight digs.

The Falcons also had three players with 10 or more kills in the match, but that trio combined for 49 kills. Cailin Fellows, a transfer from Boise State, finished with 21 kills to lead all players, while Lindsey Wodrich added a double-double of 18 kills and 12 digs. Nikki Lowell had 10 kills, a .400 hitting percentage, and seven assisted blocks, while setter Shelby Swanson finished with 58 assists. Anna Herold led all players with 25 digs for SPU.

Central Washington will continue its three-match home stand on Saturday night (Sept. 17), facing Montana State University Billings at 7 p.m. in Nicholson Pavilion.