Western Oregon Journal

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The rest of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference should take note: Don't make the Central Washington University volleyball squad mad.

The Wildcats, ranked 11th nationally, defeated Western 3-1 on Saturday, Oct. 8, in New PE. After losing 26-30 in the first game, Central Washington revved up to take three straight games at 30-14, 30-15, 30-19-and the match-from the Wolves.

"CWU has a veteran roster with returning All-Americans, and they just turned up the heat about three notches!" first-year Head Coach Joe Houck explained of the Wildcats' increase in intensity after the first game. "LeAnne McGahuey [of CWU] was awesome, and showed what it takes to be a Player of the Year in the GNAC."

The loss dropped Western to a 7-10 overall record and 5-4 in conference play. The defeat was the second 3-1 loss for Western in three days, as the Wolves also fell to Western Washington University in a similar fashion, winning the first game 30-27, then dropping three straight 15-30, 26-30, 25-30 on Thursday, Oct. 6.

Coach Houck's Wolves came out ready against Central Washington in an evenly played first game, with the lead see-sawing back and forth. Both teams were knotted at 26 until Western rattled off four straight points to win the game, finishing it off with a kill by junior outside hitter Mandy Veley. The loss seemed to fire up the Wildcats, who raced to big leads the next two games to put the Wolves back on their heels and the defensive the rest of the match.

"Central is an outstanding team, and I was really encouraged by the way we approached the match," said coach Houck. "Winning Game 1 say s a lot about the determination of this young group."

Veley led the Wolves with 15 kills, five digs and two blocks until she had to leave mid-way through the fourth game with a leg injury. Sophomore libero Claire Carpenter also played well, adding 20 digs.

The loss was not the outcome the Wolves wanted, but an excellent building block for the future.

"We really are focused on getting better every day, and taking care to establish a championship-caliber foundation for the next few years," said coach Houck. "There is so much to learn and experience, and it is all good!"

Western's next two games will be played on the road, Oct. 13 and 15 against Northwest Nazarene and Seattle Pacific, respectively. Both matches are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Then the Wolves have three home games in a row against Humboldt State on Oct. 22 at 2 p.m., Alaska Anchorage on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. and Alaska Fairbanks Oct. 29, also at 7 p.m.

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