ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Western Oregon University volleyball team stayed right with Central Washington through the first two sets and after the Wildcats were able to claim the early two sets, they pulled away in the third for the 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-13) Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory Thursday night inside Nicholson Pavilion.

Emily Olson led the offense with seven kills, followed by six from Isabel Hurliman and five from Bailee Hartsook. Aubrey Stanton spun in a pair of service aces and added 15 assists. On defense, Delaney Smith and Lauren Smith each sent back four blocks and Sophie Matlock added 13 digs.

Central Washington (9-5, 5-3 GNAC) tallied the first three points of the match. WOU (2-13, 0-8 GNAC) responded with a 5-0 burst to take the lead. During the run, Hurliman started the rally with a kill. Hartsook added a pair of kills around two errors by the Wildcats that left WOU looking at a 5-3 advantage. With the set tied at six, Central Washington went on a quick 5-0 run to jump ahead 11-6. Olson and Lauren Smith recorded kills over the next few points, but the Wildcats were still able to stretch the lead out to seven at 15-8. The Wolves got back to within five a few times down the stretch on a kill by Lauren Smith and a double-block by Lauren Smith and Hurliman before CWU won the opening set at 25-19.

Stanton started the second set with a service ace and Hurliman followed with a kill for the early 2-0 lead. Trailing 4-3, the Wolves went on a 4-0 run to move back in front. Bella MacLellan tallied a kill and after a kill by Hurliman and service ace by Matlock, an attack error had WOU holding a 7-4 lead. Delaney Smith and Lauren Smith combined for a block, along with a kill by Hurliman helped keep the Wolves ahead by two at 11-9. Following a run by CWU that had them in front by three, WOU pushed back with a kill from MacLellan and service ace by Hurliman to trail by just one at 15-14. A 7-1 run by the Wildcats helped CWU seize control of the set at 22-15. An Olson kill and after a kill by Hartsook, Delaney Smith sent back a solo block and then combined for a block with Lauren Smith before the Wildcats took the set at 25-19.

Olson began the third set with a kill and CWU answered with a 6-0 run. Following kills by MacLellan and Olson, the Wildcats used another burst to move ahead by seven at 10-3. The Wolves fought back to within four a few times, with the last coming at 12-8 before a 4-0 run had CWU out to a 16-8 lead. WOU made one last push getting kills by Hurliman and MacLellan, before a double-block by MacLellan and Hartsook had WOU back to within five at 16-11. The Wildcats then put the set and match away ending on a 9-2 run for the 25-13 third set win and 3-0 match victory.

For the match, WOU tallied 25 kills to 27 errors in 105 chances (-.019). CWU recorded 39 kills to 13 errors in 94 swings (.277). The Wildcats held the edge in blocks (11-7), assists (38-22) and digs (45-38), while both teams had five service aces.

Marianna Payne led CWU with 10 kills. Tia Andaya added 18 assists and Sydney Remsberg recorded three service aces. On defense, Leanna Shymanski sent back seven blocks and Hannah Stires posted 16 digs.

WOU will continue the road swing in Idaho on Saturday facing Northwest Nazarene starting at 12 p.m. (Pacific). The Nighthawks defeated Saint Martin's, 3-1, earlier on Thursday in Nampa.