Sept. 22, 2012

Box Score

ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Western Washington University was outhit .308 to .148, falling to arch-rival Central Washington University, 25-22, 22-25, 25-19, 25-18, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball contest Saturday at Nicholson Pavilion on the CWU campus.

The loss snapped a six-match winning streak for the Vikings, ranked No.13 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division II Coaches' Top 25 Poll, who fell to 10-2 overall and 3-1 in the GNAC.

Central, which had 13 service errors, improved to 8-4 overall and moved into first place in league play at 3-0 with its third straight victory

WWU outside hitter Marlayna Geary (Sr., Tacoma/Bellarmine Prep) had a match-high 21 kills, hitting .311 with seven errors in 45 attempts, She also had 10 digs for her ninth double-double of the season.

Central got 15 kills and a match-high seven blocks from Marcy Hjellum. Emily Dolan hit .481 with 16 kills and Kaitlin Quirk contributed six blocks for the Wildcats.

WWU never led in losing the first set, but trailed by no more than three points. There were four ties, the last at 20-20.

Three straight service aces by Geary put the Vikings in front 10-5 in the second set. Central got to within one twice, 21-20 and 22-21, before Geary ended it with a kill.

Central took a 16-8 lead in set three. WWU scored four straight points to get within four, but could get no closer.

Tied 13-all in the fourth set, Central broke it open with seven consecutive points, three on kills by Hjellum, and ended the match with three straight points.

Middle blocker Kayla Erickson (So., Gig Harbor/Peninsula) had 11 kills for the Vikings, and outside hitter Kelsey Moore (So., Bellevue/Newport) added 10.

The Vikings return home to host Saint Martin's in a league match Thursday, Sept. 27(7 p.m.).