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HTML Box Scores: vs. Colorado Mines | vs. Grand Valley State

GOLDEN, Colo. (Sept. 14) -- Senior Emmy Dolan (Castle Rock) tied for team-high honors with 11 kills in consecutive matches, but the 22nd-ranked Central Washington University volleyball team dropped a pair of four-set contests on Saturday afternoon at the Courtyard & Residence Inn by Marriott Oredigger Classic.

CWU (4-4) fell to tournament host and 19th-ranked Colorado School of Mines, 18-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-21, and then to Grand Valley State University, 25-14, 25-23, 22-25, 25-17.

"Playing back-to-back matches is never ideal, but I was proud of how we fought hard for four and half hours against two very good opponents," CWU head coach Mario Andaya said. "We knew we had this challenge ahead of us, but unfortunately we had too many errors to really sustain any type of rhythm."

In the opening match of the day against Colorado Mines, the Wildcats eased to a seven-point win in the first set and then held an 18-13 lead in the second set before the Orediggers went on a 12-4 run to close out the frame.

The Wildcats' team offense progressively slowed, cooling from a .256 hitting percentage in the opening set to an eventual .098 clip in the fourth set.

"Defensively, we created some chances to score," Andaya explained, "but we were too inconsistent on offense. I thought our serving was off, which forced our passers to grind all day."

Junior libero Kaely Kight (Spokane/Mead HS), who represented CWU on the all-tournament team, had 25 digs against Colorado Mines and then followed with 28 in the loss to Grand Valley State. Offensively, no CWU player hit better than .333, with Dolan and sophomore Rachel Hanses (Yakima/West Valley HS) tying for team-high honors with 11 kills.

"Kaely was solid, and really thought she was the best libero at this strong tournament," Andaya said. "She came up with some big defensive plays to rally us numerous times."

Melanie Wannamaker led all players with 19 kills for the Orediggers, while two others also reached double figures in that department.

Against Grand Valley State, CWU struggled offensively in the first two sets, with nine hitting errors in each set, before recovering with a .310 percentage in the third, before falling to the Lakers in four sets.

The match was close in the middle two sets, with the two teams combining for 22 ties and 11 lead changes during that span. However, Grand Valley controlled the tempo and the score in the first and fourth frames.

Dolan and sophomore Kaitlin Quirk (Ellensburg) both posted solid offensive performances, tallying 11 kills each, and Quirk had a team-best .320 percentage. Hanses added eight kills and junior Julie Hulbert (La Conner) finished with seven off the bench, and Hulbert led all players with seven assisted blocks.

The Wildcats finished their challenging non-conference schedule with a .500 record, facing four top-25 teams and two others that were among others receiving votes. Andaya hopes that the non-conference schedule will translate into a successful Great Northwest Athletic Conference season that awaits CWU beginning next week.

"Overall, I think we learned a lot about our team and feel we are on the right track," Andaya said. "Conference will be tough, but that's why we scheduled these strong tournaments, with the hopes they will prepare us for the GNAC."

The Wildcats' conference schedule begins with road matches at Western Oregon University and Saint Martin's University next Thursday (Sept. 19) and Saturday (Sept. 21), respectively. CWU will then finally make its home debut on Sept. 26 against Alaska Anchorage.