BURNABY – In a wild five-set showdown on Saturday night, the Simon Fraser volleyball team fell just short against the Central Washington Wildcats, with the visitiors claiming the 3-2 win by scores of 25-23, 22-25, 17-25, 25-20, and 15-13.
 
The loss marks the Red Leafs (6-10, 3-4) first defeat of the year in front of their home fans at Terry Fox Stadium. Meanwhile, the Wildcats move to 9-6 overall with a 4-3 record in GNAC play.
 
Sophomore Brooke Dexter continued her recent torrid run of production. The 6-foot-2 outside hitter had a game-high 17 kills, adding 10 digs and two aces for good measure. Fellow second-year hitters Jocelyn Sherman and Hanna Kolof added 11 kills apiece, while redshirt freshman setter Eva Person was the Red Leafs primary facilitator to the tune of 39 assists.
 
Knotted up at two sets apiece, the final frame was as tight as they come. CWU never trailed in the final frame, and yet the margin between the two sides never stretched larger than four points at 10-6. And still, SFU managed to claw even on four separate occasions after that point, rallying again and again. Aside from some high-octane offense via Dexter, Sherman, and Pearson, one of the key plays of that final stanza was a monstrous combo block from Holof and junior middle blocker Kalyn Hartmann.
 
The defensive stand brought SFU even once more at 13-13, but back-to-back kills from Wildcats Ashley Kaufmann and Mariana Payne put the game away for the Washingtonian visitors. Though she took a back seat to set up those two final kills, OH Tia Andaya was the Wildcats driving force all evening. The sophomore posted a team-high 16 kills, 27 assists, three aces, a block, and three digs in a spectacular showing.
 
SFU will look to turn a close loss into motivation next week as they head down to Monmouth, Oregon. With SFU set to square off against the Western Oregon Wolves, the opening serve is scheduled for 7:00 pm PST on Thursday, October 6th.
 
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