ELLENSBURG, Wash. - The Central Washington University volleyball team (5-4, 3-0 GNAC) earned their third straight victory Thursday evening after defeating the Montana State University Billings Yellowjackets (6-5, 0-2 GNAC) in a 3-0 sweep.  

Quoting Head Coach Mario Andaya  
We were able to end the rally and not give MSUB second and third chances to score. It is nice when you hit and serve well and can take pressure off your defense. Our serve-receive battled all night and set up our offense to be successful. Great team win, as a lot of players contributed at a high rate.  

How It Happened  
The Wildcats capitalized on key chances to win the three sets by scores of 25-15 (Set One), 25-13 (Set Two), and 25-18 (Set Three). The 'Cats saw strong performances from Marianna Payne, who led the team in kills with 14 total. Kayleigh-Shay Chang set up many plays that led to CWU points, leading the team with 26 assists. The defensive awareness from Hannah Stires led to her earning 15 digs as she kept the ball in play and the Wildcats in the match.  

MSUB started off the match with a 7-2 run to take the early lead. Central fought back, chipping away at the lead. The teams would end up tied at 10 off a kill from Emma Daoud-Hebert. The teams traded a point each before the Wildcats caught a stride and went on an 8-1 run to lead 19-12. MSUB got a couple of points, but CWU answered with five straight points to force set point. A service error gave a point to the Yellowjackets, but Payne would close the door on the next play to win the set 25-15 to give set one to the Crimson and Black.  

The 'Cats started set two off quickly with a 5-1 run. MSUB fought to keep the score close, but Central would answer a Yellowjacket point with two or three of their own. The Wildcats were running on all cylinders as they took a 20-10 lead. MSUB fought back and got a few more points, but the Crimson and Black had too much momentum and finished off the set with a block from Daoud-Hebert and Payne to win 25-13.  

Set three saw CWU come out with the same momentum and carried a 5-1 run to start. MSUB was able to get some traction and stayed with the Wildcats. However, the 'Cats had an answer for almost every Yellowjacket chance as they built on their lead. With the score at 21-18 and MSUB close to fighting back, Central scored four straight, including three straight kills from Payne to close the book and sweep the Yellowjackets 25-18.   

Up Next  
The Wildcats are home when they take on the Seattle Pacific University Falcons on Saturday, Sept. 28 at Nicholson Arena. First serve is at 1:00 p.m.