ELLENSBURG, Wash.- The Central Washington University women's volleyball team fell in five tough sets to Azusa Pacific University in the opening match of the 2017 DII West Region Showcase in Nicholson Pavilion. Scores of the match were 19-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-22, and 12-15.
 
The Wildcats were led by junior Shelby Mauritson, who recorded a season-high 18 kills while hitting .224. CWU outhit APU .214 to .196, out aced them 5-3 and won the blocking battle 19.0 to 10.0 but saw their record drop to 3-2 overall.
 
In the deciding set, APU jumped out to an early 2-4 lead. The Wildcats responded well with a 3-1 run to even the score at 5-5 thanks to a Mauritson kill and a pair of blocks by Madison Weg and Bridgette Webb. Webb finished with a match-high 10 blocks, followed closely by Weg and Sabrina Wheelhouse with 9 apiece.
 
A back-and-forth battled ensued for the remainder of the fifth set, with the score tied on seven separate occasions. With the score locked at 11-11, the Cougars strung together a 4-1 run to close out the contest.
 
In set one, the Wildcats went down 7-14, but responded well to close the scoring margin to 12-15 with kills coming from Weg and Maggie McTaggart. APU rebounded to close out the frame on a 5-1 run with the decisive kill coming from Madison Ogas.
 
The second set was tightly contested, with neither team leading by more than three points until the very end. The score was tied at points 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19 and 20. Central took an 18-17 advantage on a kill by Makala Swart, but the Cougars once again had the late answers and took the set on a kill by Aliyah Morrison.
 
In set three, the Wildcats trailed 5-7, but evened the score at 8 on an APU error. A service ace by Makenna Smith would give the Wildcats their first lead of the frame, 18-17. Central kept the momentum rolling as they closed out the set on a 7-4 run. Mauritson rocketed the ball off the Cougar defense to push CWU over the top and to a 25-21 win. The Wildcats hit .345 for the set, with just two errors.
 
Set four featured another tightly contested bout. The Cougars rolled to a 12-14 advantage, but the Wildcats answered with a 4-0 run to turn the tables. The Wildcats relied on the hitting power Swart and Mauritson down the stretch to seal the 25-22 set victory and force a fifth set.
 
Swart joined Mauritson in double digit kills, with 12, while hitting .263. McTaggart and Weg each finished with eight kills. Kyla Morgan paced CWU with two service aces and 24 digs and Niki Cook recorded 29 assists.

The Wildcats will play their second match of the West Region Showcase later tonight at 8 p.m.
 
-CWU-