ELLENSBURG, Wash. - The Central Washington Wildcats volleyball team was defeated by the #16 Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes on Friday in their second match of the CWU Invitational, losing 3-2.
Quoting Head Coach Mario Andaya
"We positioned ourselves to win the match, but we know we were sub-par in key areas. San Bernardino is very good and of course made it tough on us, but they don't control us on the service line. 17 missed serves hurt, but we will learn from it. Their pins were very good and scored efficiently, and we couldn't find that extra kill when we had the chance. We have another shot at a great regional opponent tomorrow so we will need to bring our best."
How It Happened
The two teams countered set wins through the match with CWU winning sets two (25-20) and four (25-23), while CSUSB won sets one (25-16), three (25-22), and five (15-13) to win the match.
The Wildcats saw offensive success from Scottie Ellsworth (13 kills), Marianna Payne (10 kills), and Ellie Marble (8 kills). Strong defensive plays by Hannah Stires (25 digs) and Emma Daoud-Hebert (6 blocks) kept Central in the match. The 'Cats fought hard to the end, but the Coyotes held the lead to ultimately win.
The first set saw CWU come out to an early 3-0 lead and hold the lead to 7-4. A few errors allowed the 'Yotes to tie the set at 7. The teams would trade points until CSUSB caught a stride and began a 13-5 run to bring the score to 20-12. The Wildcats attempted to fight back, but the damage was done as the Coyotes closed the door with an Ashley Robinson kill to win 25-16.
The two teams fought evenly to start the second set as the score was neck and neck for almost half of the set before CWU built a 4-point lead off kills from Payne and Morgan Halady, as well as service aces by Kayleigh-Shay Chang to bring the score to 18-14. CSUSB stayed in the set, but the Crimson and Black would counter most of the Coyotes' success and finished out the set with a Marble kill to win 25-20 and tie the match at one-a-piece.
The third set started similarly to the second with both teams trading points and the lead as the score would reach 11-9 in favor of CSUSB. That's when the 'Yotes went on a six-point streak to lead 17-9. The Wildcats fought back to try and stay within reach, but the Coyotes answered to keep a comfortable lead and eventually reached the set point leading 24-18. The 'Cats scored four-straight points to close the lead to two but fell short off an attack error that won the set for CSUSB 25-22.
The teams exchanged points to start the fourth set and kept the score close through most of the set leading to a 15-15 tie. Central found a groove and began a 6-1 run to lead 21-16. The teams would get one point each before the Coyotes went on a 6-1 run of their own to tie the set at 23. CWU found luck in the form of an error by Allison Legates and capitalized with an Ellsworth kill to win 25-23 and force a deciding fifth set.
CSUSB started the fifth set by going on a 7-2 run. Central would score a couple points but the Coyotes answered with three points to lead 10-4. However, the Crimson and Black caught fire and went on a 9-2 run to take the lead 13-12. With the momentum shifted, it appeared that CWU would take the match. However, the Coyotes scored two points to play for match point. The ensuing play saw both teams have scoring chances, and an Ellsworth attack saw the ball go beyond the line for a CSUSB match-winning point. Coach Andaya challenged the outcome, but the call stood, and the Coyotes won the set 15-13 and the match 3-2.
Up Next
The 'Cats take on the #11 Cal State LA Golden Eagles tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. in the final match of the CWU Invitational.
