Box Score
HTML Box Score

NAMPA, Idaho (Nov. 16) -- Sophomore LINDEN FIRETHORNE (Clinton/South Whidbey HS) totaled 17 kills, and fellow sophomore KAITLIN QUIRK (Ellensburg) registered nine total blocks, but the Central Washington University volleyball team fell to host Northwest Nazarene University in a battle of regionally-ranked teams on Saturday night at the Johnson Sports Center. NNU, ranked 10th in the NCAA Division II West Region, defeated the sixth-ranked Wildcats 12-25, 25-21, 26-24, 25-21.

The Wildcats fell to 13-11 overall and 9-7 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, while NNU improved to 16-6 overall and 12-4 in the conference.

Things started well for the Wildcats, who actually trailed as late as 5-4 in the first set before a 5-0 run -- and a 21-7 spurt overall -- propelled them to a convincing 13-point win. CWU hit .345 in the set and had four blocks, while NNU had as many errrors as kills -- nine.

The next two sets could have gone either way, as CWU and NNU played a see-saw battle back and forth. There were nine ties in the second and 10 in the third set before the hosts came out on top. The Crusaders used a four-point run midway through the second set to break a 15-all tie, and then overcame a set point for CWU at 24-23 in the third with three straight tallies to take a 2-1 match lead.

The Wildcats spent most of the fourth set playing from behind, as a 4-0 NNU run made it a 12-7 score at one point, and although CWU closed to within one four times after that, including at 17-16, the visitors were never able to catch the Crusaders to force a decisive fifth set.

"We created good chances all night long on defense," CWU head coach Mario Andaya said, "but as the match progressed we didn't convert and committed too many errors. We didn't give up, but we didn't capitalize in clutch moments when we had the opportunity to put (NNU) away."

Statistically, the two teams played quite equally. Totals in kills, digs, and blocks were nearly identical, while CWU committed three fewer hitting errors and hit at a better percentage than their hosts (.186-.163).

Firethorne and sophomore RACHEL HANSES (Yakima/West Valley HS) reached double figures in kills with 17 and 12, respectively, while Quirk added nine kills and senior ERIN SMITH (Selah) had eight. Smith was also efficient in terms of hitting percentage (.471) and had six assisted blocks as the Wildcats finished with a 16-13 edge in total blocks. Junior KAELY KIGHT (Spokane/Mead HS) had 27 digs to lead all players.

Northwest Nazarene was led by the offensive tandem of Andrea Terpstra and Elayna Rice, who combined for 36 of the Crusaders' 53 kills. Terpstra, who added seven blocks, hit .364, and Rice had a double-double of 16 kills and 13 digs.

CWU, which is still in the hunt for a second consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament berth, has two regular-season matches remaining next week at Nicholson Pavilion. The Wildcats host Saint Martin's University on Thursday (Nov. 21) and Western Oregon University on Saturday (Nov. 23), with both matches slated for 7 p.m. starts.