MONMOUTH, Ore. – Central Washington University women's volleyball rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to secure a 3-2 win (19-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-10, 15-9) over the Western Oregon Wolves. The road win moves the Wildcats record to 17-9 overall and 12-6 in the GNAC.
 
"The team really came through today. WOU came out and got us out of sorts. We looked as bad as I've seen in a while, but the team kept believing and stayed the course," CWU Head Coach Mario Andaya said.
 
The opening set was a battle in the beginning as both teams were back-and-forth to start the contest. CWU fell 4-0 early before rallying back to tie the match up at 4-4. Neither team managed to get up by more than two until the midway of the set.
 
Tied at 8-8 in the opening set, the Wolves (4-21, 2-16 GNAC) then scored 10 unanswered to take a commanding 18-8 lead over the Wildcats. CWU had opportunities late in the set and got within four, 20-16. WOU managed to respond and secured a 25-19 win to get up 1-0.
 
Helping the Wolves secure the win was holding the Wildcats .022 hitting percentage. WOU did not fare much better only hitting .186 but a 13-9 edge in kills whole forcing eight CWU attack errors gave them the win.
 
Set No. 2 was a close one late, but the Wolves still managed to sneak by with a 25-21 win to take a commanding 2-0 lead. WOU jumped out to a 5-1 edge, before the Wildcats managed to cut their deficit to two points at 8-6. The Wolves still managed to stay in front by as much 5-6 points and led 17-12 late when CWU called a timeout.
 
Out of the timeout, CWU found a spark and outscored the Wolves 7-3 to get the set within one point, 20-19. The spark was short lived as WOU finished the set on 5-1 run to secure a 25-21 win. CWU hit a bit better in the second set with a .094 mark, but WOU was in front with .176 hitting percentage. Kills were even at 12-all, but nine errors plagued the Wildcats from tying the match.
 
Down 2-0 overall, the Wildcats then mounted the comeback to force a fifth and decisive set. Set No. 3 was a battle as the Wolves barely outhit the Wildcats .163-.160, but both squads had 13 kills. The Wildcats grabbed the lead 1-0 out the gate but it was a back-and-forth affair with the game being tied or CWU leading by just 1-2 points much of the set.
 
Tied at 13-all, CWU managed to go on a quick 4-0 run to get up 17-13. Kills from Makala Swart and Julia Mellander helped CWU gain some breathing room, while Mellander also added a solo block. The surge forced WOU to call a timeout.
 
The timeout was not much help for the Wolves who only managed seven more points in the later half of the set, while CWU added 10 of its own to take the set, 25-20, and avoid the sweep.
 
Set No. 4 was a different story as the Wildcats handled the Wolves by 15 to force a fifth set. The Wildcats hit .233 and added 13 kills again, while the Wolves were held to a mark of -.067 for hitting and mustered just three kills.
 
CWU jumped out 9-1 on WOU to establish an earl dominance that lasted the entirety of the set. WOU added points in small spurts but did not break double figures until CWU scored 22 points. It was 22-10, but WOU never scored again as the Wildcats controlled the set for a 25-10 win.
 
The final set belonged to CWU as the team hit .250 for the set and did not allow the Wolves slate of .000 hitting percentage. A 9-4 edge on kills helped CWU, while the Wolves had four attack errors to CWU's two.
 
The set was close in the early stages with the teams tied at 3-3. Once again, CWU used a 4-0 run to get up 7-3 before WOU was able to respond. The Wildcats held an 8-4 lead when the two squads changed sides on the court.
 
Out of the intermission, CWU jumped up 10-5 on the Wolves. They never looked back after creating separation and held on for a 15-9 set win to complete the comeback.
 
The Wildcats won the hitting battle .132 hitting percentage, while Wolves finished at .114. WOU committed less errors, 25-32, but CWU won the blocking category with an 11-4 advantage.
 
Swart led the team posting a double-double with 18 kills and 12 digs. She hit .313 on the night and had a pair of service aces. Ashley Kaufman also had a double-double tallying 11 kills and picked up 14 digs.

Gabrielle Aihara paced the offensive distribution of the ball dishing out 30 assists. She also had 12 digs on the night to finish with a double-double. Sydney Remsberg added 18 assists in the win as well.
 
Defensively, Kyla Morgan led the way as she posted a game-high 38 digs in the win and chipped in three assists. Mellander led the way up front with eight block assists, while Diana Fa'amausili added seven to help CWU defensively.
 
"Defensively we didn't let up. It kept us in rallies and once we found an offensive rhythm, we were able to build some points," Coach Andaya said. This was a big win for us."
 
The Wildcats has one final homestand left with a pair of games next week. The final homestand starts Thursday, Nov. 21 when CWU hosts rival Western Washington. First serve is set for 7 p.m. against the Vikings inside Nicholson Pavilion.