ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Oct. 6) – The Central Washington University volleyball took on their rivals from across the Cascade Range in a Thursday night matchup in Bellingham.  The Wildcats fell in straight sets (18+25, 19-25, 17-25).  Both teams are now 9-6 overall and 5-2 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
"We didn't play well," CWU Head Coach Mario Andaya said afterward.  "But we also got outplayed.  We were just never really comfortable to start and didn't stabilize to compete.  We just could not find a rhythm offensively, plus Western was too good defensively tonight.  Their outsides killed us and did a good job finding shots and and hitting off our block to score.  We did well at times, but the momentum stalled by an error or a good play by Western."
 
The Vikings jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the opening stanza and they carried their lead to the final serve in the opening set.  The Wildcats pulled within three at 14-17, thanks to a block by Sabrina Wheelhouse and Jordan Deming, but the Vikings were abled to hold Central off.
 
The second set opened with both sides exchanging the first few points, until Western pulled ahead 6-3.  Central kept it tight, staying with three for a large portion of the set.  Timely kills by Kiah Jones, Jordan Deming, and Erin Little helped keep the Wildcats within striking distance.  The Vikings held on, taking set two 25-19.
 
Jones finished with seven, while Deming added nine, and Little notched three.  Deming also finished the match with a hitting percentage of .571.
 
The Wildcats opened a 3-0 lead in the early goings of set three, in part due to kills from Little and Sabrina Wheelhouse.  Western closed the gap and levelled the score at 4-4 shortly after.
 
The Vikings took their first lead at 8-7 and expanded it to 12-8 before Andaya called a timeout.  The Wildcats again kept the set close, but it was not enough to force a fourth set.
 
Bridgette Webb finished with four kills. Wheelhouse notched six kills, a hitting efficiency of .455, and four blocks. Kyla Morgan notched 17 digs, a team high.  Both Gaby Aihara and Nikki Cook dished out 17 assists.
 
"We will regroup and work to play a lot better on Saturday," Andaya noted.
 
The Wildcats are back in action on Saturday (Oct. 8) at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia.  First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.