Sept. 23, 2006
Box Score
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Outside hitters Jaime Anderson (Jr., SeaTac/Mount Rainier) and Emily Castro (Jr., Bellingham/Meridian) combined for 29 kills as Western Washington University defeated nationally ranked Central Washington University, 31-29, 30-23, 30-26, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match Saturday on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
The Vikings improved to 8-5 overall and 4-1 in the GNAC with their sixth win in the last seven matches.
Central, ranked No.12 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association/NCAA Division II Top 25, fell to 14-2 overall and 5-1 in the GNAC. Outside hitter Kristin Pasley led the Wildcats with 16 kills.
"It was a great environment to play in," said Western coach Diane Flick. "We're playing our big rival, and they're highly ranked. Our players rose to the occasion well."
Anderson had 16 kills, seven of them in the final game, in which Western rallied from a 6-0 deficit, and Castro added 13 kills.
"Our outside hitters had a great night," Flick said. "They hit high shots that were hard for any front line to block, and they hit smart shots. We have to have that balance from our outside hitters to be successful."
The first game was tied 17 times. Western finally closed out the frame with the final two points, the clincher coming on a kill by Castro.
The Vikings never trailed in the second game, pulling away with a 7-1 run that gave them a 20-14 lead.
The Wildcats scored the first six points of the third game and led by five, 14-9, before Western used a 6-1 run to tie the game at 15-15. The Vikings eventually closed out the match with three straight points, all by Anderson, on two kills and a match-concluding block.
Setter Katie Robinson (Jr., Everson/Nooksack Valley) had 45 assists for the Vikings and also contributed four kills and two blocks. Two of the kills came on plays where she outdueled Wildcat blockers in jousts at the net.
"Katie played with a fire that was so infectious, it was the thing we needed and it came out tonight," said Flick. "She did the job we asked her to do and did it well."
Libero Courtney Schneider (Jr., Snohomish) had a match-high 35 digs for Western.
The Vikings play host to two GNAC rivals next week, meeting University of Alaska Anchorage on Thursday (7 p.m.) and University of Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday (7 p.m.).
