Ellensburg, Wash –In a highly anticipated matchup of top Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams, the Central Washington University Volleyball team swatted the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-22) on Thursday night inside Nicholson Pavilion. 
 
The Wildcats (21-5, 15-5) and Seawolves (20-7, 13-6) did battle in one of the most competitive matches inside Nicholson Pavilion this season. The Seawolves edged out the Wildcats in kills, gaining 44 to the home team's 43. The Seawolves 48 digs were also one more than the Wildcats could muster. For the Wildcats, the difference came at the net. The Wildcats racked up six blocks to the Seawolves three. The Wildcats added a potent offense attack. The team hit .324 on the evening, besting the Seawolves' .212 hitting percentage. 
 
"That's what we needed tonight," head coach Mario Andaya said. "They are too good just to keep exchanging points. We had to find a way to put the ball away. We knew we had to grind it out, especially in those long rallies. I was definitely proud of the effort." 
 
The Wildcats hustled to an early lead in the opening set. A service error from the Seawolves' Chrisalyn Johnson sparked a 9-3 run from the Wildcats. Along the way, Madison Weg had a pair of crucial kills. The Seawolves called a timeout to halt the Wildcats. The two teams traded points until the Seawolves used their second timeout as they trailed 17-10. The Seawolves put together an impressive 12-6 run, coming to within a point of the Wildcats. Makala Swart pounded home the kill that gave the Wildcats the 25-23 set win. 
 
The second set saw the Wildcats leading 13-12 when an attack error from Vanessa Boyd started a run for the Wildcats. Sarah Joffs snuck a kill over the net that capped a 6-2 run from the Wildcats, giving them a 19-14 lead. The Seawolves would come as close as three points, but a huge block from Bridgette Webb and Weg gave the Wildcats a 25-19 set win. 
 
The Seawolves stormed out to an 8-4 lead to open the third set, before Coach Andaya used a timeout. The Wildcats went on 7-1 run, taking a 10-8 lead over the Seawolves following the timeout. Shelby Mauritson book-ended the run with a kill and a service ace. The two teams battled, trading points to a 22-22 tie. The Wildcats would score the final three points, taking the final set 25-22. 
 
Kyla Morgan made a major impact for the Wildcat defense. She led all players with 16 digs in the game. Andaya sang the praise of his team's libero. 
 
"She read the ball really well tonight," Andaya said. "They were moving the ball around. We stayed the course. She did a great job from where she was at on the floor to make plays. She didn't over play balls. That's the maturity that she's had over the last couple of years. She's really learned how to see the game before making a big move. She came up big in a lot of moments and we scored off of them, which was nice." 
 
The Wildcats return to the court Saturday when they'll play their final game of the regular season against Alaska Fairbanks at 7:00 p.m. Maurtison, Joffs, Weg and Kaycee O'Brien will be honored prior to the first serve of the contest. 

"We have a chance to play again. We want to play the best that we've played up until now. We have a chance to move on after the regular season. We have to play better. We know we can. I don't think played our best game, but offensively we got it together when we needed to. If we can clean up some things and play a little bit better, I think it'll be a fun night."