Ellensburg, Wash –The Central Washington University volleyball team returned home to Nicholson Pavilion to host a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match against Saint Martin's. The Wildcats wasted little team setting the Saints aside, taking the match 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-16) on Thursday night.
Makala Swart led all players with 15 kills. She racked up 14 digs on the defensive side of the court, adding up to a strong night for the Wildcats.
Shelby Mauritson and
Bridgette Webb had 13 kills each. Webb was unstoppable, tying for the second most kills in the game on a .526 hitting percentage. Head coach
Mario Andaya was pleased with his team's offensive output.
"We needed it," Andaya said. "Saint Martin's is scrappy. They keep the ball alive and run a fast offensive. The game plan was to put the ball away and not give them a chance to run their stuff. We are doing some nice things offensively and we keep working at it every day. It's nice to see it come out like this and be a big part of the game."
In the opening set, Webb jump started the Wildcats (12-2, 6-1) offense, as they went on a 7-2 run, gaining that advantage over the Saints (2-11, 0-7). The score was 14-7 when
Gabrielle Aihara snuck a ball over the net for a kill, forcing the Saints to use a timeout. The timeout didn't impede the Wildcats from taking the first set 25-15.
The second set was more evenly played between the two teams. The Wildcats were up 17-16 when Mauritson took over. She had four kills in the late stages, fueling an 8-3 run that gave the Wildcats a 25-19 set win.
Again, the Wildcats jumped out to a 7-2 lead, this time in the third set.
Sarah Joffs had her hand in three of the seven points scored, with two kills and a block. The score was 13-9 when the Wildcats 12-5 run, capped by a kill from Webb that gave the Wildcats the set 25-16.
"Webb is a competitor," Andaya said. "We talk about being competitive when we are in our gym. Those over feeds are critical. Net plays are also big for us. We were soft with that early in the year and these girls have made it a point to end rallies when it's there, and she did a good job of that tonight."
