Box Score

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (Sept. 15) -- Senior Marcy Hjellum (Kennewick/Kamiakin HS) posted another double-double with 12 kills and 17 digs, and the Central Washington University volleyball team snapped a three-match losing streak with a 25-23, 25-19, 25-23 sweep of the University of Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday night at the Patty Center.

The Wildcats evened their Great Northwest Athletic Conference record at 1-1 while improving to 6-4 overall, while Alaska fell to 2-6 and 0-2 in the conference.

Hjellum, who has 10 or more digs in all 10 matches this season and has added double-figure kill totals in seven of those, led an otherwise balanced offensive attack in the kill department while hitting at a .233 clip for the match.

"Marcy was steady and kept us poised tonight," CWU head coach Mario Andaya said. "She helped us weather the early storm a bit, as (UAF) came out hitting fairly well. Our passing and defenders played a lot better than they did in Anchorage, and it helped to fuel our win."

Among those passers whom Andaya praised was sophomore Kaely Kight (Spokane/Mead HS), who tied Hjellum with a match-high 17 digs.

"Kaely made some great plays and was really on with her passing tonight."

The match was close throughout, with CWU eking out two more two-point set victories. More than one-fourth (seven) of the Wildcats' 24 set wins so far in 2012 have been by the required two points.

CWU broke a 14-all tie in the first set to win 25-23 as Hjellum capped the frame with a kill, and redshirt freshman Kaitlin Quirk (Ellensburg) earned the set-clinching kill in the second frame as CWU scored 13 of the final 20 points in that set to break a 12-12 tie.

In the third set, the Wildcats rallied from a 21-18 deficit with three straight points, then scored three more points in a row to earn match point at 24-22. Two points later, redshirt freshman Rachel Hanses (Yakima/West Valley HS) secured the win with her sixth kill of the match.

Three players -- Quirk, Hanses, and junior Erin Smith (Selah) -- had six kills apiece for the Wildcats, and Smith led the front row defense with five total blocks. Alaska was led by Keri Knight, who totaled 19 kills and a .536 hitting percentage.

CWU will finally make its 2012 home debut next Thursday (Sept. 20), hosting Simon Fraser University at 7 p.m. inside Nicholson Pavilion.