BELLINGHAM, Wash. - The Central Washington University volleyball team concluded the regular season with a sweep over Western Washington Saturday evening (25-20, 25-19, 25-22), extending the team's win streak to eight games.
Tonight's win secures a second-place finish in the GNAC this season for the Wildcats with a 14-4 conference record. Additionally, this is the first sweep WWU has suffered at home all season.
NOTABLE STATS
Another game, another massive night for
Ellie Marble as she tallied 14 kills, one shy of her season-high, along with seven digs and a couple of blocks.
Kylie Thorne followed up Marble with eight kills.
Tia Andaya led the Wildcats in assists with 34, adding 13 digs and four kills.
Morgan Halady led the team in blocks with five. She also recorded six kills, along with
Emma Daoud-Hebert.
Hannah Stires had a team-high 18 digs on the evening.
QUOTING HEAD COACH MARIO ANDAYA
"The team found a way to get better and better each set. Tia did a great job managing the offense to find the right hitter in crucial times and again our passers grinded all night. AK and Ellie carried the load passing and put us in great positions. Ellie was great and came up big time tonight. This was an incredible way to end the regular season. God-willing our name is called Monday as it would be fun to see what we could do in the postseason the way we are playing right now."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Wildcats got off to a hot start, taking a 4-0 lead as
Ashley Kaufman recorded a couple of service aces early. WWU closed the margin to two points at 7-5, but the 'Cats responded by opening it up to 11-5.
Up 17-8, WWU caught some fire. The Vikings rallied off six straight to make the score 17-14. The Wildcats followed the WWU streak by taking four of their own, capped off by a Marble kill, to make it 21-14. Despite a late run by the Vikings after Marble pushed the Wildcats to set point, a WWU attack error gifted the first frame to CWU 25-20.
In the second set, the Wildcats and Vikings traded off points up to 9-9, where the Vikings finally opened a two-point lead at 9-11. The 'Cats fought back, taking four straight to force a WWU timeout at 13-11. Back-to-back kills from Thorne helped the Wildcats expand the lead to 16-12.
The Vikings narrowed the margin to two at 21-19 before the Wildcats halted any WWU momentum. A four-point CWU streak, including three Marble kills, won the second set for the Crimson and Black 25-19.
Daoud-Hebert earned a couple of kills early in the third set to give the Wildcats a 4-2 lead. Later on, the Vikings made a push, taking a lead as the 'Cats we're down 5-6. CWU responded, taking four straight to open a three-point lead at 9-6.
After trading points for a while, the Wildcats won the race to 20 points after a kill from Halady and a Kaufman service ace. Thorne lifted the Wildcats to set point with a kill and slammed the door shut on a WWU run with another kill, clinching the sweep and third set victory 25-22.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats (20-6, 14-4 GNAC) will wait for the NCAA Division II Selection Show to determine their fate as the postseason is on the horizon. The team will look to make their 14th straight NCAA West Regional appearance as the selection show is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 20, at 4:30 p.m.
