ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The winning streak continues for the Central Washington University Wildcats volleyball team (9-4, 7-0 GNAC), as they finish their road trip to Alaska, defeating the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (10-8, 4-4 GNAC) 3-1 Saturday evening. 
 
Quoting Head Coach Mario Andaya 
We are certainly excited to be on the winning side of this battle. UAA plays tremendous defense and has a lot of energy, especially at home. They converted and we had trouble finding kills in long spurts, but we never gave up. We kept creating chances until the end of a set and it worked out. Good trip for us. 

How It Happened 
The 'Cats defeated the Seawolves in a hard-fought battle, winning the first set 26-24. UAA won the second set 25-18, but CWU fought to win sets three 25-22 and set four 25-23, coming from behind in the fourth set to claim the victory.   

The Wildcats were led in scoring by Marianna Payne, who earned 20 kills. Ellie Marble and Kayleigh-Shay Chang also showed strong performances on both sides of the court earning double-double as Marble earned 11 kills and 10 digs, and Chang earned 29 assists and 11 digs. Morgan Halady led the team in blocking with 2.5 total blocks. Hannah Stires showed a strong defensive performance, earning 29 digs for the match.  

The match started with a battle between both teams as they traded points. Central was able to get an edge, but Anchorage fought to tie it up. This process repeated until the ninth point when UAA took an 11-9 lead. CWU fought to tie the set, but the Seawolves caught a stride scoring four straight to lead by four. The teams traded points, then the Wildcats scored three points to trail by one and after trading a point each, Central tied it at 18. The set became neck and neck as both teams stayed within a point of each other. Anchorage scored two points to take a 24-22 lead, but the Crimson and Black stormed back, scoring four-straight points to win the set 26-24 off a kill from Emma Daoud-Hebert. 

The teams started set two scoring three points each to tie. CWU then scored three points to lead 6-3. The two teams traded two points each, then the Seawolves scored four straight points to take the lead. The Wildcats answered with one point, but UAA began to build on their lead, answering one point with two or three of their own. The score soon became 22-17. Daoud-Hebert earned a kill, but Anchorage would score the next three points to close the door on the set, winning 25-18.  

The third set began evenly, with both teams trading points. The Seawolves took an early 5-3 lead before Central scored three points to retake the lead. UAA answered to tie, and the teams remained neck and neck through the beginning of the set. CWU would earn a four-point streak to make the score 18-15. The two teams battled as they traded points back and forth. Anchorage fought to try and come back, but the Wildcats lead held, and they would win the set 25-22 off a combined block from Daoud-Hebert and Scottie Ellsworth to take the match lead 2-1. 

Like the previous sets, set four began with the teams battling and trading the lead through the first seven points. This changed when UAA went on a 6-0 run to take a 12-7 lead. Central fought back to chip away at the lead, but the Seawolves appeared to have an answer to the Wildcats' scoring chances and kept the lead out of reach. However, the Crimson and Black found a way by scoring four straight to tie at 19-19. UAA scored the next two points, but CWU answered with three to take a 22-21 lead. The teams traded a point, then a Katie Birtcil kill tied the set at 23-23. The 'Cats, however, persevered as Payne earned the next two kills to shut the door on the Seawolves, winning the set 25-23, and giving Central Washington its seventh straight victory as they remain undefeated in GNAC play. 

Up Next 
The Wildcats return home for their next match-up on Thursday, Oct. 17 when they take on the Simon Fraser University Red Leafs. First serve from Nicholson Arena is at 7:00 p.m.