ELLENSBURG, Wash. - The Central Washington University Wildcats volleyball team (14-6, 12-2 GNAC) overcame a two-set deficit to comeback and defeated the University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks in five sets Saturday afternoon in the Nicholson Arena.  

Quoting Head Coach Mario Andaya
"We went through a rollercoaster of emotions in that match. Every match is meaningful right now, but the connection and love within our team seemed to be on the forefront of our minds this match. Our prayers for player safety and good competition before each match was evident yesterday, and we were blessed everything turned out ok. Fairbanks is an extremely good team, well coached, with a lot to play for. We knew going in they were going to come at us with everything and we were able to overcome their energy and physical play. They defended at a high level and we needed to match that and find points. We trended in the right direction, solved some things, and it ended up in our favor."

How It Happened  
The Wildcats lost sets one and two by close margins with the scores being 25-20 (Set one) and 25-23 (Set two). The 'Cats then set a comeback, winning set three (25-19), set four (25-19), and set five (15-13).   

The 'Cats' leaders included Marianna Payne, who scored 14 points, and Morgan Halady, who led the team in blocks with 5.5 total. Halady was also involved in four points during the Wildcats' six-point streak that won the deciding fifth set. Emma Daoud-Hebert led the team in hitting percentage with a .304 average. Kate Stidham led in assists with 22 total, and Hannah Stires led the defense with 33 digs.  

UAF started the match getting a quick lead off an opening 5-1 run. Central answered with three points to trail by one, and the teams began trading the lead throughout the first half of the set. Then, with the score at 14-13 in favor of CWU, the Nanooks went on a five-point streak to gain a 17-14 lead. UAF continued to build on its lead by answering single Wildcat points with multiple points at a time. Central Washington fought to keep the score close, but the Nanooks held and forced set point and closed the first set with a Rilee White kill, with the Nanooks winning 25-20.  

The momentum continued into the second set for UAF as they scored five straight points to open the set. A 3-2 run made the score 8-2 for the Nanooks, but the 'Cats answered with three points to make it 8-5. The teams traded points as Fairbanks held the steady lead. The score got to 16-11 when the luck switched in favor of the Wildcats, scoring a seven-point streak to take an 18-16 lead. The teams battled over the next two points to earn one each, then UAF scored two to tie it at 19-19. The Nanooks began a pattern of scoring two points for each CWU point, allowing them to retake the lead and eventually forced set point at 24-23. A Karli Nielson service ace shut the door Central as UAF won set two 25-23 and put the Crimson and Black in a two-set hole.  

The third set began evenly with both teams trading two points each, then the Nanooks caught a stride and scored seven straight points to lead 9-2. The 'Cats fought back, going on a 5-2 run to trail 11-7. UAF appeared to have momentum on CWU and eventually held a 17-10 lead. Being down two sets and trailing by seven with the potential of being swept, the Wildcats clicked and went off on a 12-point streak to storm back and turn the seven-point deficit into a 22-17 lead. The momentum had shifted and while UAF scored two more points, Central didn't let go of the lead as Halady earned a kill and Marble finished off the Nanooks with two kills to win the set 25-19.   

Both teams battled it out to start the fourth set as they traded the lead for the first few points. The score remained close as both teams traded points until the score was tied at 6-6. The 'Cats then score five straight points to take an 11-6 lead. The Nanooks chipped away at the lead and kept the set close through the rest of the first half of set four. However, CWU caught another stride and scored four points to take a 22-15 lead. UAF answered with two points and the Wildcats returned the favor with two of their own to force set point. Fairbanks saw the chance again and scored two more, but Daoud-Hebert shut the door on the Nanooks as Central won the set 25-19 and forced a deciding fifth set.  

UAF caught momentum starting the fifth set, going on a 5-2 run. CWU answered with a 2-1 run to trail 6-4, but the Nanooks then scored three to take a 9-4 lead as the teams switched sides. Fighting from behind again in the match, the 'Cats fought back and got a 4-1 run to trail 10-8. Fairbanks answered with two points, and then the teams traded the next two points. Down 13-9, the Crimson and Black would not be denied their chance of finishing their comeback as they scored the next six points to claim victory and achieved a stellar comeback, winning set five 15-13 and the match 3-2.  

Up Next  
The Wildcats begin their final road trip of the regular season next week as they travel to Bellingham on Thursday, Nov 14 to face cross-state rivals Western Washington University, and then travel to Burnaby, British Columbia to take on Simon Fraser University on Saturday, Nov 16.