Box Score
HTML Box Score

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (Oct. 24) -- Senior Erin Smith (Selah) had 13 kills and hit at a blazing .440 clip as the Central Washington University volleyball team cruised to its fourth straight victory with a 3-1 (25-14, 25-18, 20-25, 25-12) decision over host University of Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday night.

The Wildcats improve to 10-8 overall and remain in a tie for third place with Seattle Pacific University at 6-4 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.  The Nanooks, meanwhile, fall to 3-18 and 2-8 in the GNAC.

Smith led a trio of Central Washington players with kills in double-figures, including redshirt senior Emmy Dolan (Castle Rock) and freshman Jordan Deming (Hillsboro, Ore./Century HS) with 12 and 10 kills, respectively.  Smith and Deming also turned in dominating defensive efforts -- Smith assisted on five blocks at the net while Deming recorded a team-high 13 digs to notch her second double-double in just her fourth career match.

CWU was nearly unstoppable to start the match, hammering 16 of its 31 attacks to the hardwood in the first set, erring once for a .484 hitting percentage.  Deming had five of the 16 kills in the opening frame, including three straight kills midway through the Wildcats' convincing 25-14 win that put the visitors up 1-0 in the match.

Trailing 5-4 to open the second frame, Central Washington rallied for six straight points -- four of which were unforced errors by Alaska -- to put the Wildcats up 10-5.  The Nanooks came right back to score seven of the next nine points in the set to tie things up at 12-12, but CWU would score three consecutive points and never relinquished the lead to take a commanding 2-0 match lead.

The Wildcat offense fell silent in set number three as the team hit just .083, allowing Alaska to take the frame by a score of 25-20.  However, Central Washington again found its groove and retaliated with a vengeance to hit .385 with 10 kills in 26 attacks with no miscues to earn the match-clinching 25-12 win in the fourth set.

As a team, CWU sported a .265 hitting percentage, just over 100 points higher than UAF, although the Wildcats had only two more kills than the Nanooks on the night (48-46).  Central Washington was dominant from the service line, acing 11 serves to just two by Alaska with three each by sophomore Catie Fry (Tacoma/Mount Si HS) and junior Kaely Kight (Spokane/Mead HS).  CWU also outblocked UAF, 9-5.

Alaska was led offensively by Sam Harthun, who led all players with 21 kills while Samantha Hesterman recorded a match-high 17 digs.

Central Washington wraps up its annual trip to Alaska on Saturday when it plays GNAC leader Alaska Anchorage (15-7, 9-1 GNAC), which saw a nine-match win streak snapped by Northwest Nazarene on Thursday.  First serve from the Wells Fargo Sports Complex is set for 7 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time (8 p.m. Pacific).  The Wildcats will then return home to Nicholson Pavilion on Oct. 31 to face archrival Western Washington University.