ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Sept. 10) – The Central Washington University volleyball team picked up its first win of the season over No. 20 Point Loma Nazarene University in five sets (25-23, 16-25, 21-25, 26-24, 15-11). The Wildcats are now 1-3 on the season, while Point Loma falls to 4-1.
The Wildcats and the Sea Lions were in a back and forth battle during the first set, until
Linden Firethorne and
Sabrina Wheelhouse notched back-to-back kills to give the Wildcats a 12-9 lead in the set. The Sea Lions were able to cut the deficit back to one, but were not able to even the score.
Kaitlin Quirk registered seven kills in the first set, while Firethorne added six.
Point Loma came out strong in the second set and took a quick 5-0 lead. Firethorne got the Wildcats on the board with a kill, but the Sea Lions reclaimed the serve. Central Washington closed the gap a few points later with a 6-2 run to bring the set score to 13-11. Firethorne notched two kills in the run, while
Kiah Jones added another. The Sea Lions took the final five points of the set to even the match at 1-1.
The Sea Lions kept the momentum going from the second set and would not relinquish the lead once they got it in the third. The Wildcats notched a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to 18-16 with a kill from both Quirk and
Catie Fry, as well as an ace from Quirk. After a pair of kills from the Sea Lions, Firethorne and
Madison Weg added kills of their own to keep the set within two. Point Loma outscored Central Washington 5-3 in the final eight points to take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
The Wildcats opened the fourth set with a 5-3 lead, courtesy of two kills from Firethorne. The Sea Lions marched back and took a 7-5 lead; in one of many lead changes in the fourth. Central Washington trailed 16-12 when they went on a 7-1 run to take a 19-17 lead. Point Loma then went down 21-18, before cutting the deficit to 22-21. The Wildcats gained a two-point advantage on a kill by Fry, before the Sea Lions were able to even the set with back-to-back points. A kill by Weg was answered by the Sea Lions' Heather Leavitt and the score remained even at 24-24. Central Washington got two straight points on a kill from Weg and an attack error by Leavitt to give the Wildcats a 26-24 set win.
Central Washington jumped out to a 4-0 lead on two kills from Wheelhouse, a kill by Quirk, and an attack error by Point Loma's Cayleen Harty. The Sea Lions did not go quietly and were able to take a 7-6 lead after a 5-1 run. The Wildcats answered with a 4-1 run of their own. The two teams traded points with Central Washington holding a one-point advantage at 11-10, before they extended their lead to 14-11. Wheelhouse closed out the match as she took a set from
Jordan Deming and found space for a kill.
"I liked how we persevered," head coach
Mario Andaya said. "In the first set I liked how we set the tone offensively we were doing some good things in transition and scoring off of our defense. I think in the second and third sets we went away from that and tried to pass the ball and go for a straight kill. Once we settled down and started slowing them down at the net and allowing our defense to create scoring opportunities we were able to get back to our game. Point Loma is a good team and they like to extend rallies. It will be a dogfight from here on out, everyone we play is going to be a competitive team."
Firethorne finished with 16 kills and four block assists. Quirk registered 15 kills and three block assists, while posting a .560 hitting percentage. Wheelhouse notched 11 kills, four solo blocks, and four block assists. Fry dished out 53 assists.
The Wildcats will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 11, at 1:30 p.m. PT. They will face off against Fresno Pacific University.
