Volleyball | 10/18/2008 2:51:05 PM

MONMOUTH, Ore. - The Western Oregon University had its toughest conference test of the season as it defeated Central Washington, 21-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-17 and 15-10, Saturday, Oct. 18.

This was the 14th consecutive win for the Wolves as they improved to 16-1 on the season and 9-0 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Western Oregon continues to lead the conference by 1.5 matches over Alaska Anchorage. The lost drops Central Washington to 13-8 on the season as it fell into a tie for fourth place in the GNAC at 5-4.

Four Western Oregon student-athletes recorded double-doubles in the victory. Stacey Bennett had a team-leading 18 kills to go along with 20 digs. Kayla Mainer had a season-high 29 digs and 13 kills for the double-double while Haley Kostrba posted 12 kills and 28 digs. Amy Herron had the other double-double as she recorded 24 assists and 21 digs. Sharon Peterson and Lisa Martini both had six assisted blocks to lead the team while Danielle English posted a team-high 31 digs.

Western Oregon improved on its GNAC-leading opponent hitting percentage as it limited CWU to a .098 mark (58-33-255) over the five sets. The Wolves also outblocked the Wildcats 13-8 and had 10 more digs in the match as the defense was dominant.

"Our defense played extremely well tonight," said head coach Brad Saindon. "We are a very difficult team to put the ball away against and we were able to do that again tonight."

Hitting percentage was the key stat of the evening as whichever team won had the better hitting percentage in the set won that set.

Western Oregon fell to 11-6 in the first set as it dropped its first against CWU 25-21. Herron led the team with seven digs and six assists while Bennett added a team-leading five kills in the set. Kady Try had 11 kills in the as the Wildcats outhit the Wolves .164-.135 in the set.

The Western Oregon defense stepped it up in the second set as it limited Central Washington to a .000 hitting percentage (8-8-54) and converted a .170 (15-6-53) mark of its own, en route to the 25-17 victory. Kostrba came off the bench to record five kills with only one error on nine attempts for a .444 hitting percentage in the set. Western Oregon also outblocked CWU 3-1 helped by three assisted blocks by junior Sharon Peterson. Herron and Burrows each had seven assists in the set while English added 11 digs. WOU found itself down 12-11 but Western Oregon used a 14-5 run to close out the second set and tie the match at one set apiece.

The Wolves dropped the third set for the second time this season in GNAC play as it fell 25-22. Once again the team that won hitting percentage won the set as CWU outhit WOU .207-.155. Both teams had 58 attempts and six hitting errors but the Wildcats converted three more kills for the win. Bennett had five kills to lead the Wolves in that category for the third-straight set. Mainer was the team leader with 13 digs and Herron lead WOU with seven assists.

Western Oregon fell behind early in the fourth set 7-3 but then went on an 11-1 run to take a 14-8 lead. The two teams would trade points from there as WOU won the set 25-17. It was a poor hitting performance on both sides as WOU managed only a .062 hitting percentage (9-6-48) but was able to limit CWU to a .038 mark (10-8-53) in the set. Four different Wolves had two kills each to lead the team while Martini had four assisted blocks, Burrow six assists and Kostrba added 10 digs. 

In the fifth and deciding set, the Wolves fell behind 10-8 but used a 7-0 run to close out the set and earn a 3-2 match victory. Martini and Mainer both had three kills in the set and English added six digs and Burrows five assists for the win.

"I thought Haley Kostrba was the difference in the match," said Saindon. "She came off the bench in the second set and provided us with a much needed spark. I have told everyone that they will get their chance and that everyone always needs to be ready and I thought Haley really stepped up when we needed her."

Saindon continued, "Our team has a great sense of resolve and it is just a great team to be around. It had been awhile since we had been tested but Central Washington gave us all we could handle tonight and I was very pleased to come away with another conference victory." 

The Western Oregon volleyball team will be on the road next week as it takes on the No. 7 team in the country, Western Washington (13-2, 5-2 GNAC) Thursday, Oct. 25, at 7:00 p.m., in Seattle.