ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Oct. 1) – The Central Washington University volleyball team came away victorious in its five set match with Seattle Pacific, 3-2 (25-21, 21-25, 25-17, 20-25, 15-10).  The Wildcats are now 9-5 overall and 5-1 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, while the Falcons fall to 5-9 and 1-5 in the GNAC.
 
"It is going to be a grinding conference; we knew SPU is good at what they do," CWU Head Coach Mario Andaya said.  "We got anxious.  We tried to cruise at certain times and it cost us.  It was a lot of pressure from SPU.  It created chances and they converted.  They did a good job against us, but I'm proud of how resilient we were."
 
A kill from Kiah Jones gave the Wildcats the very first point of the match and the Wildcats slowly expanded their lead in the first set.  The Wildcats held an 11-6 lead after a four-point stretch, culminating in a kill from Madison Weg.
 
After SPU brought the set within two, 12-10, Central strung together six consecutive points and an 18-10 advantage. 
 
The Wildcats reach a 24-15 advantage and looked to take the set, but SPU put up a fight.  The Falcons nabbed six consecutive points, cutting the score to 24-21.  Shelby Mauritson ended the run, and the set, with a kill. 
 
Central and SPU battled in the early goings of the second set, exchanging points and slim advantages.  The Wildcats led 17-14 until the Falcons put together seven straight points for a 21-17 lead.  Maggie McTaggart ended the streak with a kill from Gaby Aihara. 
 
Central pulled within two, 21-23, but SPU collected the next two points and levelled the match at 1-1.
 
Another see-saw battle ensued to start set three, both sides exchanging points.  The Wildcats grabbed a 12-8 advantage with three straight points, but the Falcons cut their deficit to two with back-to-back points at 12-10.
 
The Wildcats earned six of the next seven points, including two kills by Sabrina Wheelhouse and an ace from Nikki Cook.
 
Central collected points in pairs as the set waned down and won the third set 25-17.
 
The fourth set began with Central taking a 12-9 lead.  The Falcons pulled in the next six straight points and a 15-12 lead.  The Wildcats were able to pull within one on a pair of instances, but the Falcons held on to force set five.
 
Kaycee O'Brien opened the final set serving for Central and the Wildcats nabbed the first four points, putting the Falcons on their heels.
 
"Kaycee is a kid we can use in a lot of different ways," Andaya added.  "She is a defensive player and she serves well.  With our subs we have limited options and in the fifth we had more options and could take that chance with the shorter set.  Right off the bat she picked up a couple big digs for us and served tough, she set the tone for us."
 
The Wildcats held a 12-6 lead before SPU pulled back to 12-9 with three consecutive points.  A service error by Gabby Oddo put O'Brien back to serve for Central.  The Wildcats advanced to a 14-9 lead on a block by Jordan Deming and Erin Little.  A service error by the Falcons closed the match in favor of Central, 3-2.
 
Deming led the Wildcats with nine kills, while both jones and Mauritson recorded eight.  Deming added five block assists.  Little recorded 10 total blocks, Wheelhouse notched eight, and Weg recorded six.  The Wildcats finished the match with 20 blocks as a unit.
 
Central is back in action on Thursday (Oct. 6) against Western Washington in Bellingham.  First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.