LOS ANGELES – The 25th-ranked central Washington University volleyball team played its lone match of day two the West Region Showcase Friday afternoon. The Wildcats squared off against Azusa Pacific in a match that featured another five set battle. CWU ultimately fell 3-2 (25-18, 22-25, 22-25, 25-21, 13-15).
 
The five set match was the second one for the Wildcats (4-3) in as many days. They came off a thrilling 3-2 match win Thursday night against host Cal State LA. Meanwhile, the Cougars (4-1) match against CWU was their first of the Showcase.
 
"It was another marathon against a very good physical team," CWU Head Coach Mario Andaya stated. "We grinded the whole way and showed a lot of character out there."
 
The Wildcats came out strong to start the match with the eight-point win. Helping CWU take the opening set was a .394 hitting percentage. The Cougars managed to hit .296 in the first set but an 18-10 kills advantage by the Wildcats made the difference.
 
CWU created some distance early getting out 8-4 after as Bridgette Webb brought down a kill that spark the offense. Webb, Makala Swart and Ashley Kaufman were tough on the outside which helped the Wildcats create distance midway through the first set.
 
The Wildcats gained their largest lead of the set at seven points, 15-8, thanks to a quick kill from Gabrielle Aihara. The Cougars tried to answer with a quick two-point rally but the Wildcats quickly got both points back to go up seven again, 17-10.
 
APU never recovered from the gap that CWU created. The Wildcats fast start made the difference as they took the opening set, 25-17. The Cougars did respond overall taking the next two set by a repeat score of 25-22 to jump out to a 2-1 match lead.
 
The second set was back-and-forth with neither team getting up by more than three points for the majority of the set. Diana Fa'amausili posted multiple kills throughout the set that helped CWU get up by two but the Cougars had an answer each time to stay within one or tie.
 
APU grabbed a 14-11 lead midway through the set and from there the team managed to jump up by as much as five. Trailing 20-15, the Wildcats fought back late and managed to get within two late, 23-21.
 
Despite the late rally, the Cougars held on for the three point set win to tie the match at 1-1. The Cougars held the Wildcats to just .088 hitting and won the kills battle, 16-14. The third set had a similar feel as CWU managed to hit just .070 in the set.
 
APU got out to a fast start in the fourth set leading 5-1 early on which forced a CWU timeout. Out of the quick break, the Wildcats found a rhythm and slowly chipped away the lead and tied the game at 10-10.
 
From that point on it was another tight battle until the end. CWU managed to tie multiple times but only grabbed the lead once, 21-20, late in the set.  The Wildcats got kills from Swart, Fa'amausilil, and Kaufman late to force the issue, but errors at the net helped APU escape with the 25-22 win.
 
"Asuza's blocking was a factor and they played a very good match," Coach Andaya added. "We needed to find more kills somehow but Asuza didn't let that happen. I was very encouraged with our passing."
 
With their back against the wall, the Wildcats rallied in the fourth set with a 25-21 win to force a fifth set for the second consecutive game. CWU did not take the lead until late in the set as the Cougars struggled to end the game in four.
 
APU once again jumped out to a 5-1 lead to force a timeout, but CWU never lost its cool and worked methodically to stay in the game and take the lead late. Behind the effort of 20 kills on a .326 hitting percentage, CWU tied the match up at 2-2.
 
The Wildcats had chances to tie the set at multiple points but each time the Cougars managed to keep a slim lead of 2-3 points. Trailing 17-15 late, the Wildcats finally tied the set with the help of back-to-back kills from Webb and Swart, respectively.
 
A few points later, CWU seized the moment to take its first lead of the set. A kill from Kaufman tied things up at 19-all before an APU attack error made it a 20-19 lead for CWU. With the two points, the Wildcats then scored four more to cap a 6-0 run and lead 24-19.
 
APU made one last effort in the fourth with a pair of points but Swart ended it with a kill from the outside to give CWU a 25-21 win and tie the match. The Wildcats once again needed all five to determine a winner.
 
Like they did the night before, the Wildcats rallied back from a late deficit but in the end the Cougars squeaked by with a 15-13 set win to take the match. The Cougars got to eight points first leading 8-5 as the teams switched sides on the court.
 
Coming out of the switch, the Cougars went on a 4-2 run that gave them a commanding 12-7 lead. The Wildcats responded with a 6-1 run to tie the match at 13. The comeback fell just short as APU closed out the set thanks to a CWU attack error and a kill, respectively, to hold on for the 3-2 win.
 
Five Wildcats finished with double figure kills, while three players total posted double-double performances. Swart was a force on both sides of the ball tallying 17 kills and 20 digs. Fa'amausili also had 17 kills to help lead the offense. Kaufman notched a double-double with 16 kills and 10 digs. Julia Mellander and Webb finished with 11 and 10 kills, respectively.
 
Aihara led all players with a game-high 57 assists and had 13 digs. Defensively, Kyla Morgan had a game-high 35 digs and notched four assists. Sydney Remsberg added 21 digs on defense to go along with six assists.
 
"Ashley [Kaufman], Makala [Swart] and Kyla [Morgan] were solid and kept giving us a chance. Our middles sparked us as well so that's encouraging," Coach Andaya said. "We need to regroup and prepare for a good Hawaii Pacific team."
 
CWU closes out the West Region Showcase tomorrow (Saturday) with one more game. The Wildcats take on Hawaii Pacific at 12 p.m. PT.