PORTLAND, ORE. – The Central Washington University volleyball team took on Concordia (Ore.) in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. The Wildcats smothered the Cavaliers in several statistical categories, but dropped the match 3-2 (18-25, 25-15, 25-21, 23-25, 15-12) on Thursday night. 
 
The Wildcats (16-9, 11-6 GNAC) owned the Cavaliers (9-15, 7-10 GNAC) on Thursday night. The visitors racked up 67 kills while racking up a .205 hitting percentage. The Cavaliers had 57 kills on a .155 hitting percentage. The Wildcats also dished out 63 assists, 11 more than the Cavaliers. The Wildcats hindered their own offensive output at times. They finished the match with 27 attack errors. The Cavaliers ended the match with 14 total blocks. 
 
The opening set between the Wildcats and Cavaliers was very close. Early on, the two teams were tied at four as the Wildcat scored three consecutive points. The Cavaliers answered by scoring four straight points to take an 8-7 lead. 
 
The teams would trade points until the score of the opening set landed tied at 10. An attack error from the Wildcats led to another short 3-0 run for the Cavaliers. The Wildcats responded by calling a timeout. The timeout didn't stop the Cavaliers, as the initial 3-0 run turned into a 7-2 run that gave the home team the 17-12 lead.
 
The Wildcats called another timeout. Makala Swart and Ashley Kaufman had consecutive kills that cut the Cavalier lead to 17-14. The Cavaliers pieced together a 6-1 run that gave them a 23-15 lead. They'd find the final two points they needed to take the opening set 23-18. 
 
Attack errors proved costly for the Wildcats in the opening set of the match. The Wildcats committed six attack errors while the Cavaliers committed just one. The offensive efficiency led to 12 kills on a .333 hitting percentage for the home team. 
 
The Wildcats opened the second set with a small 4-2 lead. The Cavaliers used a 5-1 run to gain a 7-5 lead. A kill from Swart started a solid run for the Wildcats. They'd use a 16-5 run that put them in firm control of the set with a 21-12 lead. Julia Mellander found some offensive flow, nabbing three kills during the run. The Wildcats would use a short 4-1 run to take the set, as Mellander had the final kill. 
 
The Wildcat offense found their rhythm in the second set. The team made just two attack errors while converting 14 kills. The Wildcats hit at a .387 clip. At the same time, the Cavaliers made nine attack errors and hit just .045 for the set. 
 
The Wildcats found themselves trailing 7-5 in the early stages of the third set. Neither side could gain an advantage, as the two teams traded points until the score landed on 12-10 in favor of the Cavs. The set remained even as the Wildcats trailed 16-13. 
 
Again, it was Swart who had the kill that sparked the Wildcat offense. What followed was a 10-3 run that gave the Wildcats a 23-19 lead. Swart and Sierra Sharma had two kills apiece during that span. The Wildcats would go on to take the set 25-21 and gain a 2-1 match lead. 
 
The Wildcat defense was stout in the third set. They held the Cavaliers to another low hitting percentage. The Cavaliers finished the third set after hitting .082. At the same time, the Wildcat offense had 14 kills on a .146 hitting percentage. 
 
More even action was on display in the fourth set. The set was tied 6-6 early, before the Wildcats went on a 4-2 run to go up 10-8. The Cavaliers scored a point to cut the Wildcat lead to one. The Wildcats went on a 5-2 run to go up 15-11, forcing the Cavaliers to call a timeout. 
 
Coming out of the timeout, the Cavaliers went on a 6-1 run to take a 17-16 lead. The Wildcats used a timeout and would score a pair of points afterwards to go up 18-17. The Cavaliers answered with four consecutive points to go up 21-18. A 4-1 run form the Wildcats would knot the set score at 22. In the waning moments of the fourth set, the Cavaliers used a 2-1 run to take it 25-23 and tie the match at two sets each. 
 
The Wildcats could not contain the Cavaliers. The home team had 14 kills while making just four attack errors. They owned a .222 hitting percentage as the evened the match at 2-2. 
 
In the deciding set, the two teams battled to a 6-6 tie. The Cavaliers went on a pivotal 5-1 run that gave them an 11-7 lead. From there, Kaufman had two straight kills followed by another one from Lexi Schamadan. The small 3-0 run cut the Cavalier lead to 11-10. In the closing moments of the final set, the home team used a 4-2 run to take it 15-12 and cap off the come-from-behind effort. 
 
The Wildcats outperformed the Cavaliers in the final set. The Wildcats had nine kills on a .167 hitting percentage. Both arks were better than the Cavaliers who converted just seven kills on a .138 hitting percentage. The Cavaliers gained a slim advantage by making on less attack error than the Wildcats who finished with four in the fifth set. 
 
Swart was outstanding for the Wildcats on Thursday. The junior finished the match with a double-double. Swart had a game-high 17 kills while adding 16 digs. Kaufman added a double-double of her own. She had 16 kills and 22 digs for a stellar night. Schamadan was the only other Wildcat to finish with double-figure kills. Schamadan finished the match with 13 kills. 
 
Gabrielle Aihara and Sydney Remsberg distributed the ball well against the Cavaliers. Aihara wrapped up Thursday's match with a game-high 33 assists. Defensively, Aihara added 14 digs for a double-double. Remsberg doled out 23 assists. 
 
Defensively, the Wildcats were led by Julia Mellander, Sharma and Kyla Morgan. Mellander had six total blocks and added nine kills to the Wildcats offensive effort. Sharma added five total blocks. Morgan led the effort in reception, accumulating 33 digs during the match. 
 
The Wildcats travel to Monmouth, Oregon for a match against Western Oregon University. The Wildcats and Wolves clash on Saturday at 1 p.m. PT.