Kearney, Neb. - On the first day of action at the Rosella Meier Fall Classic, the Central Washington University volleyball team lost to #2 Washburn 0-3 (21-25, 21-25, 15-25) and beat Sioux Falls 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-18).
 
In the first set against the Washburn Ichabods, both sides traded points back and forth until the score was 21-21 behind a Marianna Payne kill. After that, the Ichabods hit their stride, scoring four straight points to finish the set with a final score of 21-25.
 
The Ichabods found their groove early in the second set, creating a seven-point lead at the score of 5-12. The Wildcats looked to claw back, but the closest they got was within three points at multiple different instances. Just like the first set, the second set ended with a score of 21-25.
 
A strong third set by Washburn put away CWU by a score of 15-25, as the Wildcats fell to the highly touted Ichabods in three sets. Emma Daoud-Hebert led the team with nine kills and added four blocks. Daoud-Hebert finished 9-13 with a hitting percentage of .692. Payne finished with eight kills. Tia Andaya finished with six kills and 13 assists. Alyssa Smith led CWU in blocks with five.
 
"We did some good things but couldn't sustain those enough. We gave up some big runs and then got a bit chaotic on offense," CWU Head Coach Mario Andaya said. "Washburn put a lot of pressure on us at the service line and they passed very well which put them in system a lot. We couldn't match that."
 
In their second match of the day, the Wildcats kicked it into gear. After dropping the first set to the Sioux Falls Cougars, the 'Cats won three straight sets to close out the match. In the first set, a Tia Andaya kill got the offense started to take a 1-0 lead. CWU jumped out to a 10-5 lead following an attack error by the Cougars. An Ashley Kaufman kill made the score 14-10. After that, Sioux Falls went on an eight-point run to take the lead and they held onto it to take the first set 22-25.
 
The 'Cats turned it around in the second set, hit the gas pedal, and didn't look back. After back-to-back aces by Kylie Thorne, CWU jumped out to an 11-7 lead. Sioux Falls stayed in the match and took a 16-15 lead before an Andaya kill tied it up. Later, a Kaufman kill gave CWU a two-point lead, making the score 22-20. CWU's last 3 points came from Sioux Fall's errors.
 
The third set started with CWU jumping out to a quick 4-1 lead. The Cougars kept it within three points until back-to-back kills from Andaya and Payne expanded the gap to five with a score of 17-12. The Wildcats continued to slowly pull away until an Andaya kill ended the set with a score of 25-16.
 
The score of the fourth set stayed close. Both teams exchanged points back and forth and it was tied at 14-14. A Sioux Falls service error followed by a Kylie Thorne ace and a kill from Ashley Kaufman opened a three-point lead for the Wildcats. Similar to the third set, the Wildcats continued to grow the lead. The fourth set ended with back-to-back aces from Kaufman, with a final score of 25-18, sealing the Wildcat's win.
 
"We passed and attacked better. We were much more organized in rallies which allowed us to score more," Coach Andaya said. "Sioux Falls has a nice offense so it was good to see us respond and get the win."
 
Kaufman had a strong performance against the Cougars, leading the team in kills (18) and aces (4). Daoud-Hebert led the team in blocks (6). Thorne led the team in digs (12) and recorded nine kills. Andaya recorded 13 kills, four blocks and 11 digs.
 
"Sydney [Remsburg] and Tia [Andaya] set well against USF. Ashley [Kaufman] rebounded from the morning match in a big way with 18 kills and four aces and several perfect passes," Coach Andaya said.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Wildcats close out the Rosella Meier Fall Classic with two more matches tomorrow. CWU will take on the Minot State Beavers at 8 a.m. tomorrow. CWU then has another opportunity to showcase their talent against a top 10 team when they face the #10 Nebraska Kearney Lopers at 4 p.m.
 
"Tomorrow is another chance to compete and improve. Minot and UNK are different so we will need to play steady and very good volleyball tomorrow," Coach Andaya said.