ELLENSBURG, Wash. - After Simon Fraser swept the Central Washington University volleyball team at home earlier this season, the #20 Wildcats returned the favor, sweeping the Red Leafs on the road (25-22, 25-20, 25-19) and extending the team's win streak to seven games.
 
NOTABLE STATS
Ellie Marble led the Wildcats on offense with 13 kills, adding 12 digs and three blocks on the other end. Kylie Thorne had a strong evening, tallying nine kills. Tia Andaya led the team with 34 assists.
 
The Wildcats recorded 10 blocks with Emma Daoud-Hebert and Morgan Halady recording four each to lead the Crimson and Black. Hannah Stires led the team in digs with 16. As a team, the Wildcats hit .289 while holding the Red Leafs to .150.
 
QUOTING HEAD COACH MARIO ANDAYA
"Both teams came out firing on offense, but we were able to side-out their serve in crucial moments. Our passers Ashley, Ellie, Kylie, and Hannah did a great job putting us in position to score. Morgan came up in big moments in transition and scored some key point. It was impressive to watch the whole team manage the match and get this win."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Neither team could find an edge early in the first set, as both teams struggled to string together any momentum. A kill from Thorne followed by an Andaya service ace gifted the Wildcats a two-point lead at 14-12, but the Red Leafs responded by tying it up at 14 apiece.
 
At 15-15, Stires capped off a three-point run with back-to-back service aces to make it 18-15. The CWU lead wouldn't stand for long, as SFU rallied back again. At 21-21, the 'Cats took three straight as a kill from Thorne forced set point. Simon Fraser recorded one more point followed by an attack error as the Wildcats won the first frame 25-22.
 
Simon Fraser took a lead in the early portions of the second set as the Wildcats fell behind 3-6. Tied up at 10-10, the 'Cats would start to build their lead. Kills from Marble and Scottie Ellsworth expanded the CWU lead to four at 16-12.
 
The Red Leafs got within two at 20-18 after a commanding block, but Ellsworth and Halady earned it back with a block of their own. To end the set, Marble took over. She recorded a block to get the Wildcats to set point, followed by a kill to win the second frame 25-20.
 
In the third set, the Wildcats fell behind 3-6 again. After a point was ruled in favor of SFU, the Wildcats challenged the ruling on the court, getting the call overturned as the score was now tied 8-8. A run of four straight points, including a pair of kills from Thorne, forced the Red Leafs to call their first timeout at 13-9.
 
Once Simon Fraser narrowed the deficit to 14-12, the Wildcats took three straight. A Daoud-Hebert kill finished the streak to force SFU's second timeout at 17-12. An Andaya kill lifted the Wildcats to match point before an Ashley Kaufman service ace put it away, winning the third set 25-19 and clinching the sweep.
 
UP NEXT
The #20 Wildcats (19-6, 13-4 GNAC) will take their seven-game winning streak to Bellingham, Wash. to end the regular season with a matchup against Western Washington on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.