ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Sept. 20) -- The Central Washington University volleyball team claimed a 3-1 (28-30, 25-19, 25-13, 25-21) victory over Northwest Nazarene University in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match.  The Wildcats are 6-5 on the season with a 2-1 record in GNAC matches.  The Crusaders fall to 8-2 overall and 1-2 in the GNAC.
 
"Feels pretty good to end this road series with a win in a tough place," CWU Head Coach Mario Andaya said.  "Northwest Nazarene has some big guns that can carry the load and we did a good job of weathering their offense, but I was mostly happy with how we did offensively.  The passing and setting allowed us to score a lot and keep the Crusaders off balance."
 
Central Washington led the majority of the first set, but the Wildcats' lead dissipated late in the opening stanza.  Northwest Nazarene levelled the set at 24-24 on a kill from Kendra Bodine.  The two sides exchanged points, but the Crusaders were able to take the final two points for a 30-28 set win. 
 
The Wildcats took the lead for the second straight set, this time going up 5-3.  The Crusaders pulled within one, but Central held the Crusaders off with timely kills from Shelby Mauritson and Bridgette Webb.
 
Northwest Nazarene pulled even at 11-11 and took a 16-12 lead.  The Wildcats responded by taking the next four points, cutting the deficit to one.  A kill by Madison Weg brought the set back to even at 19-19 a few points later.
 
The Wildcats claimed the next six points en route to a 25-19 set victory.  A Kiah Jones kill brought the match back to even at a set a piece.
 
The momentum continued in the third set for Central Washington.  The Wildcats stormed out to a 5-0 lead, forcing Northwest Nazarene to use a timeout.  Central expanded their lead to 14-7 and did not look back.  The Wildcats rolled through set three, 25-13. 
 
In the fourth set, the Crusaders held the lead until Mauritson , Webb, and Erin Little notched three-straight kills and a 7-6 Wildcat lead.  Northwest Nazarene reclaimed a slim lead and the Crusaders were able to battle, taking a 16-12 lead.
 
Mauritson found space on the floor for a kill that jumpstarted an eight-point run.  Two blocks by Webb, Little, and Mauritson, another kill by Mauritson, and an ace from Kyla Morgan helped the Wildcats regain and expand their advantage.
 
The Crusaders were finally able to put the run to an end with a block, but it didn't stop the Wildcats.  Northwest Nazarene pulled within two, but the Wildcats snuffed out any chance of a comeback by keeping the Crusaders at arm's length.
 
Leading 23-21, Weg notched her 14^th kill, before Jones and Sarah Joffs combined for a match-ending block. 
 
Mauritson finished with 15 kills and four service aces.  Weg accompanied her 14 kills with a hitting efficiency of .400. Jones finished with 13 kills, while Webb tallied 11.  Morgan finished with 16 digs, as did setter Nikole Cook.  Cook and Gaby Aihara dished out 25 and 22 assists, respectively.  Little finished with 10 total blocks.  As a unit, Central finished with 13 blocks, 73 digs, 58 assists, eight aces, and 61 kills.
 
"Shelby, Kyla, and Lindsey Milner passed exceptionally well tonight," Andaya added.  Maddy and Kiah were big tonight, but everyone contributed and scored some big points for us.  I'm glad we didn't let down after set one.  Errors killed us that set, but we stayed course and focused on doing what we are supposed to do rather than what we shouldn't.  It was great to see that maturity from the team and really great to get a win from it."
 
 
The Wildcats are back in action on Saturday (Sept. 24) against Montana State University Billings at home in Nicholson Pavilion. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
"We are very excited to get back and finally play at home," Andaya said. "This team is ready to play for our crowd this Saturday."