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ELLENSBURG (Sept. 28) -- Senior Erin Smith (Selah) had 12 kills and hit .385, and redshirt freshman Lindsey Milner (Edmonds/Meadowdale HS) added seven kills and 12 digs in her first collegiate start  as the Central Washington University volleyball team swept the visiting Alaska Nanooks, 25-17, 25-22, 25-21, on Saturday night at Nicholson Pavilion.

The win brought the Wildcats' record back to .500 overall at 6-6, marking the fourth time in as many weekends that CWU came away with a split of its scheduled matches. They are now 2-2 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, while Alaska fell to 2-13 overall and 1-3 in the conference.

"I thought we responded better passing and came out bombing serves," CWU head coach Mario Andaya said, referring to improved play compared to Thursday's four-set loss to Alaska Anchorage. "We handled their serves so we got to run a lot of our players on offense."

CWU fired seven service aces at the Nanooks in the three-set match, while surrendering just three aces to their visitors from Fairbanks. Milner and sophomore setter Catie Fry (Tacoma/Mount Si HS) led the way with two aces each.

Offensively, all nine Wildcats to register at least one hitting attempt also scored at least one kill in the match.

"We handled ball control better," Andaya continued. "Our defense … we let them hit at a pretty good percentage but I think we kind of withstood the storm a little bit and then we settled down and played pretty well."

The closest of the three sets was the first, with nine ties and four lead changes. However, after the final tie at 14 apiece, CWU went on an 11-3 run to come away with a convincing eight-point win. The offense hit .417 in the set, sparked by a late run of four kills in as many attempts by sophomore Linden Firethorne (Clinton/South Whidbey HS) off the bench.

The Wildcats overcame early deficits in each of the final two sets, and used a late 4-1 run in the second frame to break a 21-all tie. Then, in the third set, an 8-2 run broke the match's final tie and propelled CWU to the sweep.

CWU finished with a .263 percentage, compared to a steady .232 by Alaska. The Wildcats also edged the Nanooks in digs (54-49) and blocks (4-3) en route to the straight-set victory.

In addition to Smith's 12 kills and the career-high seven from Milner, Firethorne totaled six kills and a .500 hitting percentage, while senior Emmy Dolan (Castle Rock) had five kills. Fry set the offense for 39 assists, while junior Kaely Kight (Spokane/Mead HS) led three Wildcats in double figures in digs with 15. Sophomore Zoe Iida (Bothell) added 11 and Milner had 12.

Alaska was keyed by sophomore Sam Harthun with 13 kills and 10 digs, while Keri Knight added 11 kills off the bench. Tessa Butterfield tied for match-high honors with 15 digs, while also accounting for two of the Nanooks' three service aces.

CWU returns to the road next weekend for matches at Simon Fraser University and Western Washington University on Thursday (Oct. 3) and Saturday (Oct. 5), respectively. The Wildcats' next home match is Oct. 10 versus Seattle Pacific University.