DULUTH, Minn. – The Central Washington University volleyball team (6-2) picked up a pair of wins completing the tournament sweep Saturday afternoon at the Up North Preseason Tournament. The Wildcats first completed the comeback of the ages knocking off fifth-ranked St. Cloud State (7-1) 3-2 before sweeping Michigan Tech (2-6) 3-0.
VS. #5 SCSU
The Wildcats completed the comeback win after falling in the first two sets (19-25, 11-25, 25-13, 25-19, 16-14).
Scottie Ellsworth had 15.5 points a team high 14 kills while
Emma Daoud-Hebert had a huge day with 14 points and 10 kills.
Ashley Kaufman would toss down 11 kills contributing to her 12 points in the match.
SET 1
The 'Cats battled back and forth with the Huskies in the first set but couldn't quite catch SCSU who got out to a quick 6-2 lead over the Wildcats. Ellsworth shine for CWU with five kills in the set but ultimately fell 25-19.
SET 2
The Huskies jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead before the 'Cats were able to climb back in it making it an 8-6 game in favor of the Huskies. The teams would trade four-point runs to make things 12-10 in favor of SCSU before the Huskies would go on an 11-point run putting the Wildcats down 23-10. The Wildcats nabbed one more point in a kill from
Brooke Garman but would fall behind 2-0 in the match with a 25-11 SCSU set two victory.
SET 3
The 'Cats weren't going to give up that easy, coming out with a 4-0 start in the third set. CWU found an 11-point run of their own led by Daoud-Hebert and Kaufman to give CWU the 17-2 lead. Daoud-Hebert added in three more kills as the Wildcats would win set three 25-13.
SET 4
The Wildcats came out scorching to a quick 5-1 lead and would keep that momentum for the rest of the set. The Huskies were never able to get within four-point as Ellsworth delivered three clutch late kills to tie the match at two even with CWU winning set four 25-19.
SET 5
SCSU looked to seal the deal early in set five, jumping out to a quick 6-1 lead. The Wildcats weren't going to go down without a fight as a trio of kills and a pair of aces helped put CWU right back in it and tie the set at 10-points apiece. Despite the Huskies reaching match point the 'Cats battled as a pair of kills and a big block pushed the Wildcats to victory 16-14, winning the match 3-2.
VS. MTU
The Wildcats would face another Huskies team in game two, this time hailing from Michigan Tech. The Wildcats would pick up the 3-0 sweep moving CWU to 6-2 on the season.
Central's duo in the middle of
Morgan Halady and Daoud-Hebert would register an impressive second match with Halady having three solo blocks, seven block assists, and 11.5 points. Daoud-Hebert would lead CWU with 12 points and nine kills in the match.
SET 1
The Huskies jumped out to the quick 5-1 lead, led by four kills. The 'Cats would maintain their distance for a bit, but a pair of kills and a block by CWU would tie things up at 11 apiece. CWU would go on a 4-0 run guided by Kaufman nailing two kills put the Wildcats up 17-15. The Wildcats reached set point at 24-19, but MTU wouldn't fold that easy making it a 24-23 match before an
Ellie Marble kill secured the first set victory for the crimson and black 25-23.
SET 2
Following the see-saw bout last set, the Wildcats and Huskies got out to another hard battle to start set two with the Wildcats leading 7-6 early on. The Wildcats would go on a 15-point tear led by
Tia Andaya serving up kibble, putting CWU up 22-6. The Wildcats would soar to the set two victory 25-11.
SET 3
Despite the Huskies jumping out to an early 3-0 lead, the Wildcats would come back to tie the set at four apiece. Kaufman would add three kills as the 'Cats grabbed the 10-8 lead before the teams would go back and forth making it 18-14 CWU. Kaufman tacked on two more kills and Andaya would pair with Daoud-Hebert for a pair of blocks, setting the Wildcats up with match point, up 24-14. Daoud-Hebert would officially put the Huskies in the kennel and give the 'Cats a clean sweep, winning the set 25-15 and the match 3-0.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Wildcats come home to Ellensburg to open up GNAC action and arch-rival, the Western Washington Vikings (0-8) on Thursday evening with action set to start at 7:00 p.m. from the Student Union and Recreation Center (SURC) on campus.
