ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Western Oregon volleyball team opened their week on the road with a 3-0 (16-25, 16-25, 17-25) loss to the Central Washington Wildcats on Thursday at Nicholson Pavilion.
 
In their second straight sweep for a win, Central Washington (10-7, 5-4 GNAC) would not trail later than 4-3 in a set to jump back above .500 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. The Wildcats had six players register five or more kills in the match with a team hit percentage of .297 on 101 attacks. Ashley Kaufman finished one kill shy of a double-double with nine kills and 15 digs on a team-high 11.5 points.
 
Western Oregon (3-13, 1-8 GNAC) had their best shot at a set win in the opening game, battling CWU to 10-10 through the first 20 points before the Wildcats closed the set on a 15-6 run.
 
Freshman Lauren Smith climbed into double figures in kills to lead the Wolves with 11 on Thursday. Smith did not have more than 9 kills in any of her first 13 collegiate matches, but has now rattled off three straight appearances with at least 11 kills.
 
Emily West had another productive night at setter, totaling 17 assists along with four digs and two blocks. It was the third straight appearance for West that she had played at least three sets.
 
The Wolves bounced back after being held to a .079 hitting percentage in the second set to finish with a .147 for the match, but were held to 29 total kills over the night.
 
Western Oregon closes out their week by visiting Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, Oct. 19. First serve against the Nighthawks is set for 6 p.m. PDT in Nampa, Idaho.