ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Nov. 12) – The Central Washington University volleyball team swept its match against Saint Martin's University with set scores of 25-19, 25-16, and 25-22.
"Saint Martin's poses a lot of problems that we have to figure out set by set," CWU Head Coach
Mario Andaya said. "On film you see one thing but when you play them you see something else. We had to make sure that we were playing our side and contesting what they bring at us. "
The Wildcats posted a .519 hitting efficiency in the second set, en route to a .333 efficiency for the match.
Leading Central's attack was junior
Kiah Jones. She notched 10 kills, on 18 attempts, for a hitting efficiency of .556.
"The coaches have helped me a lot to be more aggressive and working to score, which has been very beneficial," Jones said afterward. "By this point in the season I am connecting well with Catie [Fry] and I am not afraid to up there and swing because I know my teammates have my back which gives me more confidence to swing away."
Jones is no stranger to posting a high hitting efficiency this season. In five of the Wildcats' last nine matches, she has recorded an efficiency of .316 or greater. Jones has had a match hitting efficiency of .300 or higher nine times.
"Kiah works really hard and she really wants it," Andaya said of his junior outside hitter. "She doesn't see a ceiling yet which is good. She comes in works hard everyday and she has a good rhythm right now, and when that ball is put up there for her, she is confident and we are confident that she is going to put a good swing on it."
The Wildcats pulled out to a 5-1 lead in the first set and did not lose their lead. The Saints were able to pull within two on a couple occasions, but each time Central responded with runs of two or more points. Central held the Saints to a hitting percentage of .037 in the opening set.
The second set was more of the same for the Wildcats. Jones recorded five of her 10 kills in the second.
Linden Firethorne notched three kills on four attempts, after hitting -.125 in the first set.
Firethorne finished the match with 10 kills, on 24 attempts, and a hitting efficiency of .250.
"Linden found her rhythm, we didn't pass well early, but as we started passing better she started getting some better looks and was able to get us some good points down the stretch," Andaya acknowledged.
The Wildcats closed the second set with four consecutive points. Kills from Jones, Firethorne, and
Erin Little helped close the set, as well as a block by Little and
Ashtyn Mann.
"We got to run some tempo sets in the second if we cause a lot of pressure on our opponent we are able to run our offense," Andaya said. "I credit our out of system play; we stayed aggressive and were very organized out of system, which caused us to run a more balanced offense."
The Saints jumped to a 7-3 lead in the third set, looking to extend the match. The Wildcats responded by taking nine of the next 11 points to take a 12-9 lead.
"In set three they came out and served us tough and we didn't respond well in the passing game," Andaya noted. "I like how we got back into it defensively and we did well offensively all night so it was good to get the ball back into the hands of our hitters."
Saint Martin's went on a five-point run a few points later to reclaim the lead, 18-15.
The Wildcats were able to tie the set at 20-20. After a kill from the Saint's Kyra Davidson gave SMU a one-point advantage, CWU responded with four consecutive points on a kill from Jones, a block by Wheelhouse, Firethorne, and
Madison Weg, and a pair of kills from Firethorne.
Catie Fry found the floor on a setter dump two points later to end the match.
Central will be back in action on Saturday against Seattle Pacific. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
"We have a playoff mindset and have to make sure we have a purpose for everything we do." Andaya noted. "We are looking for opportunities to be tested and see how we can pull through. If we do then we know we are preparing ourselves for the potential of a postseason."
Live stats and video will be available on wildcatsports.com.
"These next couple of games in conference are all playoff games in our minds, and are very important," Jones acknowledged. "We really need to work hard and focus on getting better each day.
