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ELLENSBURG (Oct. 12) -- Sophomore RACHEL HANSES (Yakima/West Valley HS) had 11 kills and a .455 hitting percentage, and the Central Washington University volleyball hit nearly 200 percentage points better than visiting Montana State University Billings in its 25-17, 25-10, 25-23 win on Saturday night at Nicholson Pavilion.

The Wildcats swept their two weekend matches and evened their overall win-loss record at 8-8. CWU is also 4-4 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play entering the final week of the first half of the league schedule. MSU Billings fell to 3-12 overall and 1-6 in the GNAC.

Hanses, an outside hitter, had six of her match-high 11 kills in the third set, which was the closest frame of the match. The two teams had 13 ties and seven lead changes, with CWU fending off a fourth set by scoring the final three points to overcome a late 23-22 deficit. A pair of misplays by MSUB brought the Wildcats to match point, and redshirt freshman LINDSEY MILNER () then collected her only kill of the match to seal the three-set sweep of the Yellowjackets.

The Wildcats controlled the match in each of the first two sets, leading from start to finish in both sets (with the exception of a 2-2 tie in the second). Their offense was much more efficient than that of Montana State Billings, especially in the second set when the Wildcats hit .269 with just four hitting errors while the Yellowjackets committed 11 hitting miscues while accumulating just four kills (minus .219).

In addition to Hanses' kill total, freshman JORDAN DEMING (Hillsboro, Ore./Century HS) added eight kills and three blocks, while sophomores LINDEN FIRETHORNE (Clinton/South Whidbey HS) and KAITLIN QUIRK (Ellensburg) added six kills each and senior EMMY DOLAN (Castle Rock) finished with five. Quirk also spearheaded the Wildcats' efforts on front row defense, registering seven assisted blocks as the Wildcats finished with an 8-5 edge in total blocks. CWU also held a 51-47 advantage in digs, led by 13 from junior KAELY KIGHT (Spokane/Mead HS) and 12 from sophomore setter CATIE FRY (Tacoma/Mount Si HS). Fry also had 29 assists and four blocks.

MSU Billings was led by Monica Grimsrud with nine kills, while Chelsey Walter added eight. Sydney Oberstein (18 digs) and Stormy Siemion (10) combined for more than half of the Yellowjackets' 47 digs in the loss.

CWU will remain home next weekend, facing Northwest Nazarene University in a Saturday match at 7 p.m. The match will also serve as the Wildcats' annual contest for Breast Cancer Awareness.