ELLENSBURG, Wash (Oct. 11) – The Central Washington University volleyball team defeated Seattle Pacific University in straight sets 25-20, 25-13, 25-16 on breast cancer awareness night.
 
The Wildcats found themselves down early in the first set. Seattle Pacific opened the set in quick fashion as they capitalized on early attack errors from Central Washington. Jordan Deming evened the score at 8-8 with a kill down the line. It would spark a 4-0 run that extended the lead to 12-8. Central never trailed from that point on. Deming would lead the way in the opening set with five kills on eight attempts hitting .625. She would finish the night with a total of eight kills. Kaitlin Quirk pitched in with four kills in the set and two big blocks.
 
"I think Catie put me in really good spots," Kaitlin Quirk said of her own play. "She gave me the ball and opportunity to hit high and hard."
 
Linden Firethorne opened the second set with great fashion. She struck a ball down the line that ignited the crowd. The Wildcats would go on a 6-1 run that the Falcons couldn't recover from.

"I thought we came out consistent in a lot of ways," Head Coach Mario Andaya said. "We came out aggressive offensively and trying to keep things simple, and stay physical when we could."

Firethorne collected four kills in the set and ended with nine in match while hitting .208. Catie Fry continued her dominance as she dished out 14 assists in the second set and a total of 34 on the night.
 
The Wildcats defense played light outs all night. The team held the Falcons to a hitting percentage of .082 and recorded 10 team blocks.
 
"Obviously we are not expecting to keep SPU at that number (.082 hitting percentage)," Andaya explained. "But it's nice to see the hard work we put in this week defensively pay off."
 
The Wildcats finished the Falcons in third set thanks to the serving ability of Lauren Herseth. With the score tied at 12-12, Herseth's next serve crawled over the net and found the hardwood to give the Wildcats a 13-12 lead. She would stay on to serve until the lead grew to 15-12. Match point kept the crowd on edge as the rally went back and fourth. It finally ended on a team block from Firethorne and Quirk.
 
Tonight's Dig Pink was the sixth game hosted by the volleyball team.
 
"It's a fun night because it's just a significant month," Andaya said. "It's fun because you get to where pink and give notoriety to the fight of breast cancer. It's nice to see that crowd and our girls pay tribute to that and for us to do our part and celebrate the fight."
 
The Wildcats will continue their home stand next week as they await Western Oregon University for a Thursday, Oct. 16 match up. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m.
 
"We have to focus on improving." Andaya added. "We have to make sure we respond to the right things and what our opponent is showing us on film."