ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University volleyball team (6-4, 2-1 GNAC) finished its first homestand of the season with a big sweep of Northwest Nazarene (1-9, 0-3 GNAC).
 

Quoting Head Coach Mario Andaya

"We put some work into keys things this week which were evident today. Our defense is getting better and creating more scoring chances. Brooklyn made a lot of plays, and our blocking came up big. Scottie and Ellie carried the scoring load today, which was necessary. We were able to make some plays down the stretch to secure a good win against NNU."

How It Happened

The Wildcats won the match in three heavily battled sets that ended in scores of 25-21, 25-20, and 26-24, respectively. Strong performances on both sides with Abby Black leading the Nighthawks in scoring with 15 total kills, while also recording 10 digs for a double-double.
 
Ellie Marble showed up for the 'Cats–earning a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs, while also splitting service aces with Mya VanderYacht, Payton Davis, and Brooklyn Parker with one ace each. Parker led at the defensive line with 19 total digs, while Kayleigh-Shay Chang kept the offense going with 34 assists. Kailey Willsey held down the front line, leading with 10 total blocks, including two solo blocks. She was followed by Scottie Ellsworth with six blocks.
 
NNU opened the match with the first edge with a 5-2 run. Then the teams traded a couple of points before Central responded with four points to take the lead at 10-9. The teams again traded a point, but then the Wildcats' offense came alive–scoring nine unanswered points to make it a 20-11 game. The 'Hawks answered back, though, with a 10-4 run to only trail by three points. However, that's as close as NNU got with set point in effect, as Marble shut the door with a kill to take set one 25-21
 
Central opened set two with a quick 5-3 run. Northwest Nazarene responded with a 5-3 run of its own to tie it back up at 8-8, as both teams fell into a battling groove while not allowing the other to gain an edge. Then, the Wildcats scored three points to take a 16-13 lead and answered a single NNU point with two more points to make it an 18-14 game. However, the Hawks responded with four points to tie it up once again. The teams traded the next few points. Then, with a narrow 21-20 lead, CWU hit a stride and closed out the set with four straight points to win set two 25-20 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Northwest Nazarene showed that it wasn't going to go down easily and opened the third set with an 8-3 run. The 'Cats answered with three points to cut the lead to two, as the teams began trading points with NNU holding the lead. The Nighthawks held on for the next several rounds before Central cut down the lead with three points at 14-14. The 'Hawks continued to stay in front, though for the next several points, getting the lead to 20-18. However, the Wildcats found a stride after that and scored three points to flip the lead to 21-20. The teams went into a heated battle as Northwest Nazarene took the game into set point at 24-23. CWU was not done, though, answering with a kill from Corinne Westby to tie at 24, then Marble got a kill to force match point at 25-24. Then, a bad set from Morgan Wilding gave the Crimson and Black the winning point to take set three 26-24 and seal the sweep for the Wildcats.
 
Up Next
The 'Cats head on the road next week–flying over the Rocky Mountains to take on Montana State Billings on Oct. 2. First serve from Alterowitz Gymnasium is set for 6:00 p.m. PDT.