ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Oct. 10) – The Central Washington University volleyball team fell to No. 7 University of Alaska Anchorage, 3-1, on Saturday.  The Wildcats are now 10-6 on the season with a 6-2 record in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.  The Seawolves are 15-1 overall and 7-1 in GNAC matches.
 
"I think when we had tough or bad situations we were overplaying a bit," CWU Head Coach Mario Andaya said. "There was some anxiety when we were out of system, which isn't like us.  I think we did a good job settling down. "
 
Anchorage came out and took a 10-2 lead.  They expanded it to 14-4 before the Wildcats notched a 8-2 run, cutting the deficit to 16-12.  Kiah Jones and Kaitlin Quirk nabbed two kills each in the run.  The Seawolves finished the set by gaining points a handful at a time, 25-18.
 
The Wildcats regained momentum in the beginning of the second set.
 
"We did a good job getting better touches on the ball especially in set two," Andaya added.  "We knew it was going to be tight."
 
The Wildcats took an 11-6 lead to open the set.  After hitting .030 in the first set, Central responded by hitting .286 in the second set.  The front row found their form, recording three blocks in each of the first two sets. 
 
"We are good defensively and can put a good block up," Andaya said.  "However, at times if we can't put pressure on them offensively we can't get our block up." 
 
The Wildcats picked up 10 blocks on the night, with Quirk leading CWU with a solo block and five block assists.
 
Four kills each from Linden Firethorne and Jones helped seal the second set for CWU.  The Wildcat defense held the Seawolves to a .185 hitting efficiency in the set.
 
With a 19-17 Wildcat advantage, Anchorage leveled the set with a kill by Julia Mackey and a block by Leah Swiss and Caitlin Hanson.  Central Washington responded with four straight points.  Kills by Jones and Kaitlin Quirk bookended the streak.
 
Jones finished the match with 13 kills and a service ace.
 
The Wildcats closed the second set with a block by Sabrina Wheelhouse and Firethorne, which was preceded by a kill from Firethorne.
 
Firethorne led the Wildcats' offense with 14 kills.  She also added one solo block and four block assists.
 
Anchorage found three runs of 5-0 during the third to put the Wildcats under pressure.
 
"Anchorage came through and did a better job under duress," Andaya said afterward.  "We were a little softer and made some errors out of system."
 
The Wildcats recorded two 5-0 runs of their own in the third set, but Anchorage held on with a 25-21 win.
 
Both teams came into the night hitting over .230, but defense prevailed through the first three sets.  Anchorage held the Wildcats to a hitting efficiency under .100 twice through the first three sets, while Central held the Seawolves to .200 or lower.
 
"They ran their fast offense and spread our block out in key situations," Andaya said.  "We would like to get more blocks, but we need to be more aggressive on offense to open that up."
 
Anchorage opened the fourth set with a 4-1 lead, but CWU responded to even the set at 4-4.
 
Central then outscored the Seawolves 4-4, taking an 8-5 lead.  The Wildcats held the lead until Anchorage picked up three straight points to even the set at 22-22.
 
Anchorage scored three of the next four points to close out the match.
 
Both teams hit over .300 in set four, and tallied 17 kills a side.
 
The Wildcats will be back in action on Thursday, Oct. 15, in Seattle to face Seattle Pacific University.  First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.