BILLINGS, Mont.- The Central Washington University volleyball team defeated the Yellowjackets of Montana State Billings in sweeping fashion (25-21, 25-13, 25-14) on Thursday night in the Alterowitz Gymnasium. CWU moved to 13-5 on the season and 8-2 in GNAC play, while MSUB dropped to 6-12 overall and 2-7 in conference play.
 
CWU and Montana State Billings traded pints early in the first set until a kill from Maggie McTaggart gave the Wildcats a 9-7 lead. CWU would string together a 4-0 run later in the frame to extend their lead to 18-11 thanks to a kill and service ace by junior Shelby Mauritson. The Yellowjackets attempted to claw their way back into the set with a 5-1 run, but another kill by Mauritson would give the Wildcats the first set 25-21.
 
Montana State – Billings would open the second frame with a point, but it was Central Washington who would rattle off a 5-1 run to take an early lead 5-2. Midway through the set, a kill by Madison Weg sparked a CWU 6-0 run to capture an 18-8 advantage. The Wildcats would later take the 2-0 lead in the match of clinching the second set 25-13.
 
Trailing 0-2 early in the third stanza, Central Washington would once again string together a 7-0 run with kills coming from Mauritson and Weg and a service ace by Kyla Morgan. The Wildcats held the Yellowjackets to a -0.054 hitting percentage to complete the sweep after closing out the final set scoring three straight points, to win 25-14.
 
The Wildcats dominated MSUB in nearly all facets of the match including kills (42-28), hitting percentage (.313-.018), assists (41-27), digs (50-41) and blocks (10.0-2.0).
 
Mauritson matched her season-high kill total, registering 18 with a .389 clip.  Senior Sabrina Wheelhouse tallied six kills in addition to five blocks. Bridgette Webb also recorded six kills with a .250 hitting percentage.
 
Sophomore libero Kyla Morgan led CWU with 16 digs, while Kaycee O'Brien added seven digs.
 
Sophomore Niki Cook dished out 19 assists and added seven digs. Gabrielle Aihara registered 15 kills and five digs.
 
The Wildcats will return to the friendly confines of Nicholson Pavilion on Thursday, Oct. 19 to face Western Oregon University at 7 p.m. PST.
 
-CWU-