TOPEKA, Kan - The Central Washington University volleyball team continued its stay at the Capitol Plaza Invitational against Emporia State. The Wildcats buzzed the Hornets 3-1 (25-13, 23-25, 25-18, 26-24) on Saturday morning.

"I thought our passing was stable most of the match which helped our offense," CWU Head Coach Mario Andaya said. "Lexi [Schamadan], Ashley [Kaufman] and Kyla [Morgan] were steady all match long."

The Wildcats (2-1) handed the Hornets (2-1) their first loss of the young 2019 season. After trading early runs, the Wildcats led the Hornets 7-5 in the first set. Ashley Kaufman had a kill that sparked an 9-2 run that created a 16-7 lead for the Wildcats. From there, the Wildcats maintained their lead. A kill from Bridgette Webb ended the set 25-13 in favor of the Wildcats. 

The first set featured a balanced offensive attack from the Wildcats. Lexi Schamadan and Webb tied for a team-high with four kills. Kaufman and Diana Fa'amausili added two kills a each. Defensively, the Wildcats were outstanding in the first set. The team held the Hornets to a -.065 hitting percentage and had four blocks. 

"We were able to stabilize when Emporia got things going so I was very impressed with our team's resiliency," Coach Andaya said.

The Hornets responded by scoring the first four points in the second set. Fa'amausili snapped the streak with a kill. The two teams began to trade points as the Wildcats aimed to close the gap created by the Hornets. The Hornets led 9-8 before scoring four consecutive points to gain a 13-8 lead. 

Later in the set, the score was 18-15 in favor of the Hornets. A service error from the Hornets opened the door for the Wildcats. A 5-2 run followed that featured two kills from Webb, a kill from Kaufman and a kill from Schamadan that tied the set at 20. The Hornets scored two consecutive points before trading points with the Wildcats. The Hornets escaped with the second set 25-23. 

The Hornets found a way to answer the incredible defensive performance from the Wildcats in the first set. The Hornets hit .319 and had 19 kills in the second set. Unlike the first set, the Wildcats were unable to block any attacks from the Hornets in the second set. 

The Wildcat offense remained strong as well, as the team had 16 kills on a .283 hitting percentage. Kaufman played a huge role in the Wildcats' success offensively. The Idaho Native had seven kills in the set.

The third set opened with more back-and-forth action. The Wildcats owned 10-9 lead when they were able to put together a short 4-0 run to push their lead to 14-9. The Hornets answered with a 5-1 run of their own, making it one point set once again. Fa'amausili had two kills that started a 6-0 run for the Wildcats. The Wildcats were able to hang on to the set for the 25-18 win.

The Wildcat defense performed well in the third set. They suppressed the Hornet offense to a .048 hitting percentage while blocking three of their attacks. Fa'amausili had a strong third set, converting on four attacks for the Wildcats. 

The fourth set was closely contested with neither side being able to gain an advantage. The Hornets were able to gain a small advantages before the Wildcats climbed back into the game. Late in the set, the Wildcats trailed 19-17 before putting together a 4-1 run to go up 21-20. From there, the Wildcats hung on to take the set 26-24 and the match 3-1. 

Four Wildcats finished the match with double figure kills. Kaufman led the group with 14 kills. She also had 18 digs. A late surge from Webb lifted her to 12 total kills on a .333 hitting percentage. Schamadan's hot start earned her 10 kills. Fa'amausili had 10 kills on an incredible .409 hitting percentage. Fa'amausili made just one attack error during the match. Gabrielle Aihara was excellent, assisting on 38 kills in the match. 

"Gabrielle [Aihara] was very good again and ran a good offense against a very good defensive team," Coach Andaya added.

Kyla Morgan led the defense with 25 digs. Webb had four blocks, three of which were assisted. Schamadan also had three assisted blocks. As a team, the Wildcats held the Hornets to a .138 hitting percentage. 

The Wildcats wrap up their weekend at the Capitol Plaza Invitational later today. The team takes on tournament hosts in No. 4 Washburn at 1:30 p.m. PT. 

"Washburn is a national contender so it will be fun to compete against them on their home court," Coach Andaya said. "We will need our best stuff for sure."