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SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (Dec. 5) -- Senior EMMY DOLAN (Castle Rock) had 13 kills, and the Central Washington University volleyball team kept the score close in all three sets, but the Wildcats' 2013 season came to a close with a 25-22, 25-18, 25-23 loss to top-seeded Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday night at the NCAA Division II West Region Volleyball Championship at the Coyote Den.

The Wildcats finished the campaign with a 15-12 record, making their second straight appearance in the post-season. CSUSB, ranked 14th nationally, improved to 26-5 overall with its 10th straight win.

"We put ourselves in position to compete, and probably win, some of the sets," CWU head coach Mario Andaya said, "but our offense stalled in critical situations and we couldn't put them away in key times."

The CWU offensive attack had some difficulties against the Coyotes on Thursday night, in spite of a strong start for the Wildcats. CWU had 15 kills in the first set, and hit at a match-best .217 clip, but dug itself an early 8-3 deficit that it had to overcome. The Wildcats got to within one on multiple occasions before tying the score at both 21-21 and 22-22, but three straight points by the Coyotes broke that final tie.

The second set also saw the Wildcats facing an early deficit of 8-3, but once again, CWU rallied to make it competitive. They got to within one at 18-17, but Cal State San Bernardino scored the next two points -- and seven of the final eight -- to earn its largest set win of the match at 25-18.

"The match was very competitive," Andaya added, "but we dug ourselves a hole in each of the first two sets to where we had to come back. I really am proud of how we persevered in those two sets to make it competitive."

The third set was a true see-saw battle, as there were eight ties among the first 11 points. CWU briefly took control after the 11-11 deadlock, scoring four straight points, and the Wildcats seemingly were in control late into the set. They were two tallies away from forcing a fourth set, holding onto a 23-19 lead, before CSUSB went on a feverish rally with six straight counters -- including the final five on either kills or blocks by Alexandra Torline -- as the Coyotes completed the sweep.

"We envisioned a battle in the third set, and if we had the lead late, I liked our chances," Andaya explained. "But even then, we stalled late on offense. CSUSB is a very physical team with a good defense. It was a good defensive battle, but they just had more offensive firepower."

The Coyotes were consistent offensively, totaling at least 16 kills in each of the three sets and finishing with hitting percentages between .220 and .240 in each frame. They accumulated 50 kills to the Wildcats' 36 and outscored CWU in every statistical category.

Defensively, the Wildcats had some phenomenal play -- especially in the first set when they totaled 25 digs and pieced together some long rallies.

"We were pretty relentless on defense, and that's what made it a close match," Andaya said. "We snuck up on them in the first two sets because of our defense and scored in transition off of our defense, and so that was key.

"Kaely (Kight) was phenomenal -- she showed why she's one of the best liberos in the West Region -- and Zoe (Iida) had a great night with her defense. KAITLIN QUIRK was solid on the block, too, so again, our defense was our main cog. We just needed to show a bit more."

Kight (Jr., Spokane/Mead HS) finished with 15 digs for the match and moved into third place on the school's single-season digs list with 548. Iida (Sr., Bothell) added 12 digs in her final collegiate match, and Quirk was involved in four of the Wildcats' five blocks in the match.

Offensively, Dolan spearheaded the CWU attack, with six of her kills coming in the final set. Sophomore LINDEN FIRETHORNE (Clinton/South Whidbey HS) was next on the kill ledger, totaling seven off the bench.

"Emmy had a really good night and put us in position to hold off (CSUSB) in set three," Andaya proclaimed. "She was physical and did a lot of the things consistently tonight that she does well. It was nice to see her put us in that position offensively."

Cal State San Bernardino saw three players finished with 11 or more kills. Tori May and Brenna McIntosh, the Coyotes' all-region middle blockers, had 15 and 11 kills, respectively, with May hitting .542. McIntosh hit .360 and added four blocks, while Torline finished with 14 kills, a .343 percentage, and two solo blocks. Setter Stephanie Sinohui had a double-double of 45 assists and 12 digs, while Arielle McCullough led all players with 16 digs.

While CWU saw its season come to an end, as well as the careers of Dolan, Iida, and middle blocker ERIN SMITH (Selah), Cal State San Bernardino advanced to the regional semifinal against Sonoma State University on Friday night.