Burnaby, B.C. - The Central Washington University volleyball team opened its Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule against Simon Fraser. Throughout the contest, the Wildcats completed several comebacks to beat the Clan 3-2 (25-20, 17-25, 29-31, 25-11, 15-10) on Thursday night.
"We showed heart tonight and got through tough moments all night," Coach Andaya said. "Winning on the road in the GNAC is tough so this is a big win for us. Simon caused a lot of trouble for us but we were able to solve some stuff to keep us in this match."
The Wildcats (6-3, 1-0) made a theme of erasing deficits to the Clan (4-5, 0-1) throughout Thursday's contest. In the opening set, the Clan exploded to a 7-3 lead. The Clan continued to build a lead as a kill from Kirsten Pinkney pushed their lead to 10-5. The run prompted CWU Head Coach Mario Andaya called a timeout.
The timeout proved useful, as the Wildcats used a 7-2 run to the tie the set at 12. Makala Swart and Diana Fa'amausili highlighted the run with two kills each. The Clan would nab the lead again as the score landed on 15-13. The Wildcats scored three consecutive points before the both sides traded points. The score was 19 all when the Wildcats went on a set-clinching 6-1 run. An ace from Swart made gave the Wildcats the set win at 25-20.
The Clan opened the second set with another strong run. This time, it was a 9-3 run that benefited the Clan. During the middle stages of the set, the Wildcats couldn't seem to mount a run that would close the gap created by the Clan. The Wildcats never scored three consecutive points as they dropped the second set 25-17, evening the match at 1-1.
The Wildcats opened a wild third set with a 5-2 run. The Clan responded with a 5-1 run to take an 8-6 lead. The two teams traded points until the Wildcats tied it at 12. The Wildcats trailed 16-14 when the team pieced together another 6-2 run that gave the Crimson and Black a 20-18 lead.
The Clan scored four-straight points, going up 22-20. The Wildcats used their first timeout. The Clan scored another point, and the Wildcats used their final timeout of the set trailing 23-20.
The Wildcat offense was notably efficient in the fourth set. The team converted on 13 of their 30 total attacks, good enough for a game-high .367 hitting percentage for the set. The Wildcats ripped off a 5-1 run that gave them a 25-24 lead and their first chance at set point. Ultimately, the Wildcats would have five chances at set point before the Clan had a 3-0 run that gave them the 31-29 set win. The Clan were a set away from taking the match.
The Wildcats did everything they could to make sure the fourth set looked nothing like any of the previous sets. The team scurried out to a 9-4 lead in the opening stages of the match, forcing the Clan to use their first timeout. Julia Mellander had two kills and an ace during that time. The two teams traded points before the Wildcats led 12-8. A dominant 13-3 run from the Wildcats ended the set. The set score was 25-11 and the match was headed towards a fifth and deciding set.
The Wildcat offense was notably efficient in the fourth set. The team converted on 13 of their 30 total attacks, good enough for a game-high .367 hitting percentage for the set.
"Our offense came alive in set four and we got after it," Coach Andaya added. "SFU played very good defense and scored a lot against us through three sets. Although we played solid defense throughout, we were able to score at the end. Our late scoring made the difference.
The fifth set belonged to the Wildcats from first serve. The team jetted to an 11-3 lead powered by two kills from Ashley Kaufman and two service aces from Sydney Remsberg. The team was able to hang on to take the set 15-10 and completed the come-from-behind match win 3-2.
Kaufman and Swart finished the game with double-doubles for the Wildcats. Kaufman led the team with 18 kills while adding 13 digs. Swart smashed home 15 kills with 12 digs. Fa'amausili added nine kills, Mellander had eight kills and Bridgette Webb finished with seven kills. Gabrielle Aihara ran a smooth offense, dishing out 50 assists over the five sets.
The Wildcat defense was stout throughout the entire contest. The Wildcats put together 14 total blocks led by Mellander who had team's only solo block while recording eight assisted blocks. Fa'amausili had six assisted blocks and Webb had five assisted blocks. Kyla Morgan led the squad with 34 digs. Remsberg racked up 17 digs while Aihara added 15 digs.
"Our serving was solid and our block stayed effective all night," Coach Andaya said. "Those were two big keys for us."
The Wildcats take on one of the country's best teams in No. 2 Western Washington on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT in Bellingham, Wash.
