MONMOUTH, Ore. – After a strong start, taking the first two sets of the match, the Western Oregon volleyball team fell 3-2 (25-19, 25-21, 20-25, 10-25, 9-15) to the Central Washington Wildcats Saturday afternoon at NPE Gym.
 
Western Oregon (4-21, 2-16 GNAC) was held without a set win in their trip to Ellensburg earlier in the season, but quickly righted the ship with back-to-back games won to start Saturday's contest.
 
The Wolves used a mid-game run in the first set to pull from behind. Trailing 8-7, WOU rattled off 11 straight points to push ahead by 10. Central Washington (17-9, 12-6 GNAC) battled back to within four at 20-16, but Western was able to hold them off and secure the first set win.
 
The second game went to WOU as well, who won five of the first six points in the set. Lauren Smith delivered two kills during a five-point rally, getting set up both times by Aubrey Stanton. Smith had a team-high 14 kills in the match. She added on five digs, two blocks and an assist. Stanton finished with her first double-double of the season and came within three kills of the triple double. Stanton recorded 34 assists, 26 digs, seven kills and two blocks on a .462 hitting percentage.
 
The Wildcats offense woke up in the third, jumping their hitting percentage above .100 for the first time in the match. CWU recorded a .130 mark on the day, hitting .233 or better in both the fourth and fifth sets.
 
Makala Swart had a match-high 18 kills for CWU, picking up 12 digs and two aces. Teammate Ashley Kaufman followed with 11 kills and 14 digs.
 
Central pulled out a 7-1 start in the fourth set to force a Western timeout. The run didn't end there, however, as the Wildcats won nine of the first 10 points of the game. The Wolves were held to just 10 points in the set, recording only three kills on 30 attacks with five errors.
 
With the match coming down to the fifth set, the game opened evenly with a 3-3 tie after six points. That's when the Wildcats took charge and scored four straight points to take their definitive lead. Swart's kill for the 15^th point would seal the set and comeback win for CWU.
 
Saturday's game represented the first five-set match between the Wolves and Wildcats since 2016 and Central's first five-set win over Western since 2009.
 
Sianna DeCarli finished with 11 kills in the match on 37 attacks, picking up two blocks and a dig for the Wolves. WOU had 14 team blocks, their highest total of the season.
 
Next up, the Wolves will play their final week of the 2019 season. WOU hosts Concordia Tuesday, Nov. 19, and Montana State Billings Thursday, Nov. 21. Both matches are set for a 7 p.m. PST first serve at NPE Gym.