BURNABY, B.C. (Oct. 8) -- The Central Washington University volleyball team dropped Simon Fraser University in straight sets (25-19, 25-21, 25-14) for its 10th win of the season.  The Wildcats improve to 10-6 overall and 6-2 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  The Clan falls to 13-3 and 6-2 in the GNAC. 
 
After a tough outing at Western Washington, the Wildcats bounced back nicely on the back end of their road trip. 
 
"The team really focused on some keys tonight to help us play better than Thursday," CWU Head Coach Mario Andaya said.  "We are pumped it led to a win."
 
After Simon Fraser took the first two points, three consecutive kills by Kiah Jones and Erin Little gave Central a 3-2 lead.
 
A few points later, Central strung together six points in a row for a 10-5 lead.  A pair of kills from Shelby Mauritson and two blocks each from Sabrina Wheelhouse and Madison Weg helped the run along. 
 
The Wildcats went on another run after SFU battled back to 14-10.  Mauritson opened the five-point run with a kill and followed her kill with back-to-back aces.  An attack error from SFU gave the Wildcats four-straight, before Jordan Deming notched a kill for the fifth point.
 
"Jordan was tough to stop and was a rock in many ways tonight for us," Andaya said of Deming.
 
The Clan compiled four-straight points of their own, cutting the Wildcats' lead to 19-14.  Jones took a set from Kyla Morgan and notched a kill, ending the Clan's run.
 
"Kyla led us in digs and is showing flashes she is going to be a special player," Andaya noted of his freshman libero.  "But everyone else committed to our defensive effort tonight, making this one of our best defensive outings."
 
Weg ended the first set on a kill from a set by Nikki Cook.
 
Multi-point stretches for both sides opened set two.  After the dust settled from the streaks, a see-saw battle began with points alternating sides.  The Wildcats took the lead for good on a service error by SFU's Katie Dolguikh, 19-18.  A block by Deming and Erin Little closed the second set.
 
Back-and-forth play began set three, until the Wildcats notched a seven-point run and a 13-6 advantage.  The Clan never recovered and the Wildcats closed the match on a four-point run, with a kill from Little cementing the victory.
 
Mauritson finished with nine kills, 14 digs, four aces, and one block.  Jones notched eight kills and five assists.  Weg totaled seven kills and seven blocks.  Wheelhouse picked up two kills, two solo blocks, and five block assists.  The Wildcats finished with 14 blocks as a unit.
 
"We were more intentional on our block tonight and made it easier for our back row to read and make plays," Andaya added.  "Lindsey Milner made some big plays to extend rallies and help us keep the pressure on."
 
Milner notched eight digs and one kill.  Morgan finished with a team high 21 digs.  Cook dished our 14 assists, while Gaby Aihara added 13.
 
The Wildcats are back in action on Thursday (Oct. 13) at 7 p.m. in Ellensburg against the University of Alaska Anchorage, the current GNAC leader.