LACEY, Wash.- The Central Washington University volleyball team (10-5, 5-2 GNAC) dropped a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match to Saint Martin's University (7-8, 2-5 GNAC) Thursday evening in Marcus Pavilion.
 
The Wildcats fell in five sets (25-23, 19-25, 25-19, 19-25, 9-15) for their first loss since falling to Western Washington University, 1-3, on Sept. 14.
 
"We got out played," CWU head coach Mario Andaya said. "We struggled with control all night and couldn't get any consistent offense. SMU put a lot of pressure on us, and we didn't take it very well. They sat back and played sound defense and controlled the most of the match. Got to learn from this and move on."
 
Junior Shelby Mauritson led the way with 18 kills and senior Sarah Joffs added nine kills with a .368 hitting percentage on the day. Senior Sabrina Wheelhouse and sophomore Bridgette Webb both recorded six kills apiece on Thursday. Wheelhouse also recorded a match-high eight blocks in the match.
 
Sophomore Gabrielle Aihara led the way with 22 assists, followed by Niki Cook with 20. Cook also accounted for a team-high 22 digs against the Saints.
 
The opening frame featured five ties and three lead changes as the Wildcats battled back from a six-point deficit (11-16) to earn the set victory, 25-23. Mauritson tallied five kills and six digs in the opening frame to lead CWU.
 
SMU came back to notch the match 1-1 after taking set two, 25-19. The Wildcats opened the frame on a 4-2 run with kills coming from Madison Weg and Mauritson, but the Saints countered with a 4-0 run to take a 7-5 lead. The Wildcats trailed by as many as eight points, down 19-11 late in the set, and despite a 4-0 run down the stretch, SMU managed to take the frame with a kill from Rebecca Mitchell.
 
The Wildcats used the momentum of an early 7-2 run to capture the third set 25-19. A kill by Webb propelled CWU to set point, and a Saint Martin's service error closed out the stanza in the Wildcat's favor.
 
The Saints cruised to a 25-19 victory in the fourth frame after jumping out to an 11-1 advantage. The Wildcats attempted a late-set rally, however, a kill by Mitchell closed out the set in the Saint's favor.
 
The Saints jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before running away with the fifth set, 15-9. Central Washington managed to even the score at 4-4, but Saint Martin's closed out the frame netting two of the final three points to take both the set and the match.
 
Central Washington will look to bounce back on Saturday (Oct. 7) as they travel to Seattle, Wash. to face Seattle Pacific University at 7 p.m. PST.
 
-CWU-