ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Nov. 15) -- The Central Washington University volleyball team lost its final regular season game to the regions top ranked team Northwest Nazarene University in five sets (29-27,13-25,25-19,20-25,10-15) Saturday night in Nicholson Pavilion.
 
The Wildcats end the regular season with a 19-7 record, 12-6 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  Northwest Nazarene finishes with a 24-2 record, and a GNAC best 17-1 record.
 
"NNU is the best defensice team I've seen all year, so I like the effort we put forth tonight," Head Coach Mario Andaya said. "They had a little more offense then us, which propelled them in key moments.  We obviously will take a careful look at what things we can can get better at, but also emphasize the things that helped us slow down the top ranked team in the West."
 
The Wildcats jumped out to a 12-8 lead in the first set thanks to six errors by the Crusaders.  Central Washington had NNU on its heels 24-20, but the visitors rattled off four straight points to tied the set at 24.  The teams exchanged leads before back-to-back kills from Kaitlin Quirk and an attack error by the Crusaders gave the Wildcats the final 29-27 set victory.
 
Northwest Nazarene controlled the second set by scoring the first seven points and led by as many as 12 points in the frame en route to the 25-13 set win.  The Crusader defense held the Wildcats to a -.093 hitting percentage, while hitting .273 with just three errors.
 
After intermission, the Wildcat offense regained composure and hit a game-high .229, with 16 kills, six of which came off the hand of Jordan Deming.  The Wildcats forced seven errors on their opponents while holding NNU to a .146 hitting percentage, taking the set 25-19.
 
Central Washington held a 5-4 lead in the second set on a kill by Kiah Jones, but the NNU defense kept the Wildcats from sustaining a lead as they totaled three blocks in the frame and built a 19-11 lead over the Wildcats.  NNU closed the match with a kill by Madi Farrell who had 20 kills on the night.
 
The fifth set went back and forth, and with the score tied at nine, NNU ripped off four straight points, and eventually took the set and match victory 15-10.
 
Deming led the Wildcats with 14 kills and a team best .387 hitting percentage.  The sophomore also collected a season-high 20 digs in the contest.  Senior Kaely Kight was one of four Wildcats with double-figure digs, leading the pack with 31.
 
Fellow seniors, Julie Hulbert and Lauren Herseth – who played their final collegiate match in Nicholson Pavilion – had solid outings.  Hulbert contributed seven kills and had a team high seven blocks, four of which were solo.  Herseth added 11 digs and two assists.
 
"All three seniors made a difference tonight, and gave us a chance to win," Adaya said about his outgoing players. "we expect that from them and more importantly they expect that from themselves. They are great leaders that will hopefully give us a chance at another winning streak this season."
 
The Wildcats are more than likely to make a back-to-back trip the NCAA Division II West Regional Tournament as they entered the day ranked fourth, with the top eight teams advancing to the tournament.  The Wildcats are likely to stay in the fourth spot, but will have to wait until tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. to find out where they fall in the region.
 
The volleyball team will be hosting a "Watch Party" starting at 6:30 p.m. in Nicholson 205 and invite all  fans to join them as they celebrate their selection to the 2014 NCAA Division II West Regional Tournament.