ELLENSBURG, Wash. - The Central Washington University volleyball team pulled out the brooms Thursday night at the SURC, sweeping the Saint Martin's Saints 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-12).
 
"I though the team did a nice job of weathering the storms and making adjustments throughout the match," Head Coach Mario Andaya said. "Saint Martin's was in a system a lot in the first set and got a lot of kills. We had to match their output to keep it close which gave us a chance to steal the set. We started to see the game a bit better in sets two and three which allowed us to defend better as the match went on."
 
Emma Daoud-Hebert had a great performance tonight, recording a team-high 10 kills and five blocks with an attacking percentage of .667.
 
Ashley Kaufman led the team in digs (11) and tacked on seven kills. Kylie Thorne logged nine kills and seven digs. Sydney Remsberg led the 'Cats in assists (19). Tia Andaya had a 7-kill, 18-assist performance.
 
"Kylie's defense and timely kills were huge for us. Emma had a big night at the net again so that really opened things up for us," Coach Andaya said.
 
Tia Allen led the Saints with nine kills and eight digs, both team-highs. Karla Soto had 28 assists. Jennifer Soha and Loredana Fouonji both registered three blocks.
 
The Wildcats had a combined attacking percentage of .337 while holding the Saints to a percentage of only .137.
 
Both teams struggled to take a commanding lead early in the first set. Tied 13-13, the Saints went on a run, rattling off seven straight points as the Wildcats fell behind 13-20.
 
The 'Cats began to climb back, narrowing the deficit to 18-23. Rachel Lambrecht came in to serve, helping the team take four straight points to make it 22-23.
 
After SMU took the next point, CWU hit the gas pedal, taking four straight points to end the set. A Tia Andaya kill clinched the final point as the Wildcats completed the comeback, winning set one by a score of 26-24.
 
Early in the second set, the Crimson and Black held a 9-8 lead. Then, the team took eight of the next nine points to claim a 17-9 lead. Saint Martin's began to fight back, making things close as the score was 21-17 late in the set.
 
But, the 'Cats weren't going to squander the lead. A Daoud-Hebert kill clinched the final point in the second set for the Wildcats, winning 25-21.
 
With their eyes set on a sweep, CWU went on a run early in the third set. An ace from Hannah Stires gave the 'Cats a big 11-5 lead. The Saints looked to fight back, but couldn't cut the lead closer as the score was 16-10 later in the set.
 
The Wildcats caught fire, only allowing the Saints to get two more points. Kills from Marianna Payne and Kaufman helped CWU secure the third set 25-12.
 
With tonight's win, the Wildcats jump to 11-7, 6-4 GNAC. On Saturday, the 'Cats will take on Western Oregon (7-11, 3-7) in the SURC at 1:00 p.m.