ELLENSBURG, Wash.- Four Wildcats posted double-digit kills as the Central Washington University women's volleyball team defeated Stanislaus State University, 3-1 (18-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-16) in Nicholson Pavilion on Thursday night.
 
"I thought we came out and competed well today," CWU head coach Mario Andaya said. "After losing to Azusa, we had to have short-term memory and reflect on what we could for about an hour. After an hour, we had to move on to Stanislaus."
 
"Stanislaus came out passing really well and it stifled us a little bit in that first set," Andaya continued. "We didn't have an answer for their offense when they were passing that well. We regained our composure in the next set and got our offense going. I felt like we controlled the match after that."
 
Leading the charge for CWU was junior outside hitter Maggie McTaggart. McTaggart posted 14 kills and only one error on 30 attempts for a .433 hitting percentage, also contributing five digs and a team-high three service aces.
 
"Maggie transitioned really well," Andaya said. "We extended a lot of rallies and kept the ball alive. She put herself into position to take some big swings for us. She has a hammer and when she gets ahold of it we like our chances to score. The setters did a good job of putting her in positions to score, but she was a workhorse. We used her in a lot of situations and she had a good night."
 
Senior middle blocker Sabrina Wheelhouse led the Wildcats with six blocks, adding 11 kills (.474 hitting percentage), two digs and one ace. Junior Shelby Mauritson recorded 11 kills (.267), followed by Madison Weg with 10 (.500). Mauritson also tallied a team-high 14 digs and two blocks.
 
Sophomores Niki Cook and Gabrielle Aihara combined for 45 assists, 10 digs and two service aces.
 
As a team, CWU hit .293 to Stanislaus State's .188, out blocked SSU seven to five, and recorded six service aces to the Warriors' four.
 
The two teams began the match locked point-for-point, until a 3-0 scoring run gave the Warriors a 10-7 lead. The Wildcats managed to close the gap to 16-15 thanks to kills by Bridgette Webb and Makala Swart. The Warriors continued to press CWU and closed out the set on an 8-3 run.
 
The Wildcats responded well in the second frame, jumping out to an early 4-2 lead thanks to back-to-back service aces by McTaggart. The Warriors would battle to get back within one (10-9), but failed to capture the lead for the entirety of the set. Wheelhouse recorded two kills down the stretch to give Central the set victory.
 
CWU's momentum extended into the third stanza, where the Wildcats surged to a 7-1 lead behind three kills from Weg. The Warriors tried to battle back, but the Wildcat offensive attack was too much for them to handle. Central cruised to a 25-18 set victory to take a 2-1 match score lead.
 
Trailing Stanislaus State early on in the fourth set, Central Washington's hitting advantage (.306 to .111) converted into an 8-2 run for the Wildcats and gave them a 10-5 edge. CWU extended the run to match point at 24-16, before an SSU attack error secured the victory.
 
The Wildcats will stay in Ellensburg for the remainder of the West Region Showcase, facing Dixie State University on Friday at 3 p.m. and the University of California-San Diego on Saturday at 8 p.m.
 
-CWU-