Ellensburg, Wash – A heavy weight showdown between two of the best Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball teams took place inside Nicholson Pavilion, as the Western Washington Vikings escaped 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-20) over the Central Washington Wildcats on Saturday night.  

The Vikings (9-3, 4-0) stepped off the bus ready to play, jumping out to a 15-5 lead over the Wildcats 9-2, 3-1). The Wildcats clawed back to within three, before the Vikings took the first set 25-20. The Wildcats used another late push to come within a point of tying the Vikings, before they eked out a 25-23 win in the second set. The Vikings used a 13-6 run during the middle part of third to aid themselves to a 25-20 set win.  

"We put ourselves in a tough spot in each set," Mario Andaya said. "We started to find a little bit of a rhythm, it was a little bit too late. You're not going to get to play that aggressive and expect to get points against a team like Western." 

Makala Swart led the way with 14 kills for the Wildcats, adding eight digs and three blocks to a solid night. Shelby Mauritson was consistent, converting on 11 attacks, adding 11 digs defensively. Madison Weg made the most of her opportunity, gaining eight kills on a .273 hitting percentage. Gabrielle Aihara racked up 34 assists on the evening. Kyla Morgan led the team with 18 digs, followed closely by Weg who supplied 17 digs of her own. 

Aided by a large showing from the class of 2022 on Wildcat Welcome Weekend, Central Washington University set a new single game GNAC attendance record as 2,109 people witnessed Saturday's match.  

"I think it's great," Andaya said. "When you get everyone involved with Wildcat Athletics, no matter what it is, they get pretty fired up. If we could get that type of environment every night, it would be awesome."   

The Wildcats are back in action on Thursday when they head to Monmouth, Oregon to take on Western Oregon at 7:00 p.m. Then on Saturday, the Wildcats play Concordia (Ore) in a match slated for 7 p.m.