ELLENSBURG, Wash (Oct. 9) – The Central Washington University volleyball team defeated Montana State Billings University in straight sets winning 25-23, 25-20, 25-12 to end a three-game losing streak.

The win lifts the Wildcats to 11-5 overall, and 4-4 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference as the Yellowjackets stumble to 10-6 overall, and 4-4 in the GNAC.

"Well, it's nice to be at home obviously," Head Coach Mario Andaya said. "We have a sense of composure. We did some good things tonight and were consistent."

The Wildcats battled tough in the first set trailing early and often. They fell into two-point deficit right of the bat and faced a five-point hole when the score board read 7-12 midway through the opening set. Linden Firethorne (Clinton, WA, South Whidbey) led CWU in the first set with four kill on 12 attempts hitting .167. She would finish the night with 14 kills on 28 attempts hitting .429. The Wildcats benefited from Jordan Deming (Hillsboro, OR, Century), Julie Hulbert (La Conner, WA, La Conner), and Kiah Jones (Port Angeles, WA, Port Angeles) each hitting above .400 in the opening set and collecting three kills each in the process. The Wildcats would come from behind and win the opening set 25-23.

"They were aggressive," Andaya said of his team's performance. "Jordan is a special talent. I think she can be real good and she is setting some bars for herself right now, and working hard to reach them. Linden has been showing it night-in and night-out and it's nice to see that when team recognizes where she's and keys in on her, she can still preform."

Both teams fought hard in the second set trading points back-and-fourth. A service ace from a Catie Fry (Tacoma, WA, Mount Si) in the second set tied the score at ten apiece.

The Wildcats recorded six service aces to the Yellowjackets' two.

The Wildcats went on a six-point run late in the second set to seal the deal. The run was sparked by a Deming kill and back-to-back misplays from the Yellowjackets to inflate the Wildcat lead to 19-17. A Firethorne kill and two more attack errors by MSUB clinched the set for good, winning 25- 20. Deming led the team with five kills in the second set and finished with 10 kills on 18 attempts hitting .444 on the night. Fry added 12 assists in the second set and totaled 39 for the game.

"Catie is an amazing player, if the set is off or too tight, she will fix it," Deming said. "It's so great to have a high-energy player on the court that always has your back."

The Wildcats ran away with the third winning 25-12. CWU benefited from four four-point Wildcat runs. Jones fueled the third set win with four kills and none bigger than the match-clinching kill. Fry set Jones on the left side for the attempt that ricocheted off a MSUB defender but remained with the Wildcats. Fry reset Jones who didn't miss and rocketed the ball straight down for the win.

The Wildcats will continue their four game home stand Saturday, Oct. 11 when Seattle Pacific University rolls into town. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m.

"Every match is important," Andaya added. SPU is good, they are well coached. They run their stuff really well and have some outside hitters that can light it up any night. We just have to make sure we are running our stuff at a high level."