Central Washington University Athletics

NAMPA, Idaho- The Central Washington University women's volleyball team (18-7, 13-4 GNAC) fell in five sets (25-21, 25-22, 20-25, 20-25, 11-15) to the No. 13-ranked Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks (23-2, 15-2 GNAC) on Tuesday night at the Johnson Sports Center.
 
"I was very happy with how we competed," CWU head coach Mario Andaya said. "This match showed we have improved in a lot of areas. Unfortunately, we got sloppy at the end and it cost us. NNU did some nice things at the end that we were trying to figure out and we kept it close while doing so, but the net calls and errors killed us. We will grow from this and I hope to come back stronger Saturday."
 
The Wildcats captured the first two sets to take a 2-0 advantage in the match, but NNU forced a fifth set after taking the third and fourth sets. CWU would ultimately drop the fifth set after battling back-and-forth with the Nighthawks. Three of CWU's four conference losses have been in five-set matches.
 
Junior outside hitter Shelby Mauritson tallied 10 kills with a .526 hitting percentage in the opening frame to help the Wildcats take a 25-21 set victory. Tied 21-21 late in the set, a service ace by Mauritson sparked a 4-1 run by Central Washington to come away with the set win.  
 
The second set featured 11 ties and five lead changes. With the score notched 8-8, the Nighthawks rattled off a 3-1 run to take a 11-9 lead. Trailing 20-17, the Wildcats managed to close out the frame on an 8-2 run to seal the victory, 25-22.
 
The Nighthawks jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the third set, but CWU countered with a 3-1 run to close the scoring margin to one, 6-5. The Wildcats failed to capture thelead for the entirety of the set, ultimately falling 25-20.
 
The Nighthawks hit an impressive .394 in the fourth set, while allowing just a .132 clip to Central Washington. The Wildcats captured the first two points of the frame, but NNU evened the score 4-4 following a CWU service error. With the score tied 15-15, the Nighthawks scored four straight points. Central Washington attempted to close the gap with a pair of kills by Maggie McTaggart, but NNU would come away with the set victory 25-2.
 
Mauritson recorded back-to-back service aces to open the fifth set for CWU, but the Nighthawks stormed back to balance the score 9-9. Northwest Nazarene clinched the win following a 6-1 run.
 
Mauritson led the Wildcats with 16 kills, 21 digs and three service aces., followed by McTaggart and Sabrina Wheelhouse with 10 kills. Wheelhouse also recorded a team-high .474 hitting percentage and seven blocks.
 
Sophomores Gabrielle Aihara and Niki Cook dished out 24 kills apiece, and Kyla Morgan registered a team-high 22 digs.
 
The Wildcats will return to Washington on Saturday night against Montana State University – Billings at 7 p.m. in Nicholson Pavilion.
 
-CWU-