NAMPA, Idaho.— The Central Washington volleyball team took down the Nighthawks at Northwest Nazarene three sets to one to close out their GNAC road trip.

The 'Cats hit their stride on the road as a team hitting percentage of .308 on 58 kills allowed them to fly by the Nighthawks.

"The team had a great week of practice and it showed. Getting a road win feels great. Our offense came alive, especially our middles. Sydney Remsberg and Tia Andaya's trust in the middles was clear today and Emma Daoud-Hebert and Leanna Shymanski came through. Our serving was on as well which gave us some good chances to score." CWU Head Coach Mario Andaya said.

The Nighthawks and 'Cats traded blows to open the first set. The 'Cats had created a 6-4 lead, but the Nighthawks bounced back making it 11-11.

A 6-1 scoring run capped off with a pair of kills from Ashley Kaufman and Emma Daoud-Hebert put the 'Cats out front, 17-12. The Nighthawk offense mounted a push, but consecutive errors and kills from Ashley Kaufman and Marianna Payne held them off 21-19.

The 'Cats would score the final points of the set and would close it out on a block from Tia Andaya and Leanna Shymanski, 25-19.

The 'Cats went rolling into set two with momentum from the first jumping to a 3-1 lead.  The Nighthawks would pull within one 6-5, but that was as close as they'd get in set two. Ashley Kaufman found the gap for kill that would kick off a ten-point scoring run propelling the 'Cats into a 19-7 lead.

The Nighthawks would only find two more points, and a kill from Marianna Payne followed by a service error would close out set two, 25-10.

Set three tripped up the 'Cats early as the Nighthawks broke a 3-3 tie and pulled ahead 10-6.

Leanna Shymanski landed a crucial kill for the 'Cats to keep the deficit to five, but the 'Cats could only climb back 12-15. The Nighthawks offense started to click as they propelled themselves into a 20-12 lead over the 'Cats.

Four different 'Cats found solo kills to try and keep them in it, but the Nighthawks had taken flown off with set three, 25-18.

Set four meant the 'Cats needed to answer and quickly. With six of the opening seven points coming off of kills, the 'Cats found a commanding 7-3 lead. The Nighthawk offense began to answer, bringing about an 11-11 equalizer on a service ace.

Like the flip of a switch, the 'Cats offense put up a six to one scoring run to retake the lead 17-12.

The Nighthawks were unable to answer, and the 'Cats took the final set and the match on a kill from Tia Andaya, 25-16.