ELLENSBURG, Wash.- The Central Washington University volleyball team (9-4, 4-1 GNAC) continued GNAC play with a thrilling five-set home victory against the University of Alaska Fairbanks (8-6, 1-4 GNAC). The Wildcats downed the Nanooks 3-2 (21-25, 25-22, 25-25, 25-27, 16-14) Thursday evening in Nicholson Pavilion for their fourth straight victory.
 
"It was a good match," CWU head coach Mario Andaya said. "We had to have a lot of resolve while trying to compete and we adapted to what they were doing. They were locating the tips well, they passed significantly well at times and kept us off balanced with their quick attack. We adjusted in key moments and pulled it out."   
 
The Wildcats were led by junior Madison Weg, who registered a season-high 18 kills while hitting a team-high .375. Senior Shelby Mauritson recorded 17 kills and collected a season-high 26 digs for her tenth double-double of the season.
 
Maggie McTaggart and Sabrina Wheelhouse tallied 11 kills each, while recording hitting percentages of .235 and .304, respectively. Wheelhouse also set a new season-high block total of 14 and added a service ace to her performance.
 
Sophomore Niki Cook closed out the match with a season-high 33 assists and nine digs. Gabrielle Aihara dished out 21 assists of her own and recorded 10 digs. Kyla Morgan registered 21 digs on the evening.
 
The Wildcats out-hit the competition for the eleventh time this season, recording a .192 hitting percentage and yielding just a .152 clip from the Nanooks. The Wildcats also led the Nanooks in service aces (4 to 1), blocks (19 to 6) and digs (93 to 89).
 
"We did what we needed to do in key moments," Andaya explained. "I didn't think we hit great, but we did what we needed to do in order to sustain a lead or put pressure on Alaska. I don't think our team had their best night, in terms of hitting, but we got the critical points we needed to pull out the victory."
 
The Wildcats return to Nicholson Pavilion this Saturday, Sept. 30, to host the University of Alaska Anchorage. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. PST.
 
-CWU-