Box Score

LACEY (Nov. 8) -- Four players finished with 10 or more kills, and the Central Washington University volleyball team recovered from a slow start to defeat host Saint Martin's University, three sets to one, on Thursday night at Marcus Pavilion. Set scores were 23-25, 25-14, 25-18, 25-19.

The Wildcats, ranked fifth in this week's NCAA Division II West Region poll, improved to 18-7 overall and 11-4 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. Saint Martin's, meanwhile, fell to 6-15 overall and 3-12 in the conference.

CWU fell behind 11-1 in the opening set, but nearly came all the way back to win the frame. The Wildcats closed to within one point on two occasions -- at 23-22 and 24-23 -- but Saint Martin's converted a kill on its second set-point opportunity to take a 1-0 match lead.

The Wildcats recovered offensively in the second set after committing 10 hitting errors and compiling a minus-.039 percentage in the first set. Fueled by senior Marcy Hjellum (Kennewick/Kamiakin HS) and junior Emmy Dolan (Castle Rock), who totaled five and four kills, respectively, in the second set, CWU hit .265 with 14 kills in the frame and outscored the Saints, 25-14. CWU then led from start-to-finish in the third set and committed just two hitting errors while scoring five service aces in a seven-point victory to take a 2-1 match lead. Redshirt freshman Rachel Hanses (Yakima/West Valley HS) keyed the third-set success with six kills in 10 attempts.

In the final set, after five ties early in the frame, CWU used a 13-3 scoring spurt to break a 6-6 tie and take a commanding 19-9 advantage. They then traded points with the Saints the rest of the way, before Hanses converted on her 12th kill of the match at the first match point.

Hjellum was again the Wildcats' leader in kills with 13, but had plenty of help from teammates Hanses, Dolan, and junior Erin Smith (Selah). That trio had 12, 10, and 11 kills, respectively, with each of the latter three hitting better than .300 for the match. Senior setter Devin Larson (Mukilteo/Kamiak HS) finished with a match-high 40 assists.

At the service line, CWU accumulated 21 points in the four-set match with 12 service aces and nine SMU service errors. Sophomores Julie Hulbert (La Conner) and Kaely Kight (Spokane/Mead HS) had three aces each, while Larson and redshirt freshman Zoe Iida (Bothell) added two apiece. The Wildcats did commit seven service errors, but allowed just two aces to the Saints.

Kight led the CWU passing game with 22 digs, while four others had 10 or more. The Wildcats finished with an 81-78 edge in digs.

Saint Martin's was led by the 14 kills and .393 hitting percentage of Katy Ferguson, while Carrie Starbuck added 12 kills and 14 digs. Middle blocker Kyra Davidson finished with eight blocks for the Saints.

Central Washington plays its final away match of the 2012 regular season this Saturday, taking on a regionally-ranked Western Oregon University squad that has won eight consecutive matches. The match is set for an 8 p.m. start in Monmouth, Ore. -- one hour later than the originally-scheduled start. CWU then plays consecutive home matches next week to round out the regular campaign.