Box Score
ELLENSBURG (Oct. 2) -- The Central Washington University volleyball team posted its highest hitting percentage in a single match in 21 years, as the 25th-ranked Wildcats cruised to a 25-3, 25-10, 25-2 victory over visiting Walla Walla University on Tuesday night at Nicholson Pavilion.
The Wildcats, who on Monday secured their first top 25 ranking in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II poll since Nov. 6, 2006, improved to 11-4 on the season with their fifth consecutive victory. Walla Walla, which competes as a dual member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA), fell to 2-11.
CWU, whose .514 hitting percentage was the program's highest since a .556 clip in 1991, posted the two largest set margins of victory since set scores went first-to-25 prior to the 2008 season. They won the first set 25-3 after hitting .565 as a team offensively, and then bested that record with 22 straight points en route to a 25-2 win in the third set. The Wildcats had a .650 hitting percentage in the final frame after totaling 13 kills without an error in 20 attempts.
In addition to its offensive efficiency on the attack, CWU was proficient at the service line where they totaled 15 aces in the three-set match. That ace total, which was fueled by redshirt freshman
Zoe Iida (Bothell) with seven, is tied for the fifth-highest total in the Wildcats' era as a NCAA Division II member.
The offensive charge was led by outside hitters
Rachel Hanses (Fr., Yakima/West Valley HS) and
Sabrina Schwindler (Sr., La Conner), who collectively had 23 kills in 33 attempts without an error. Each appeared in just two of the three sets, with Hanses finishing with 13 kills in 18 tries (.722) and Schwindler posting a career-high with 10 kills in 15 swings (.667). Eight of the 12 CWU players to appear in the match had at least two kills apiece.
The Wildcats will return to Great Northwest Athletic Conference action this Saturday (Oct. 6) as they visit Northwest Nazarene University. CWU, which is currently tied atop the GNAC standings with a conference record, will then return home for two pivotal matches during Homecoming week -- Oct. 11 versus Western Oregon and Oct. 13 versus Saint Martin's.
