ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The SFU Red Leafs lost to rival Central Washington in straight sets Thursday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball action at Nicholson Pavilion.
The Red Leafs, one week removed from a big win over No. 9 ranked Alaska Anchorage, ending their 13-match win streak, fell to the Wildcats 25-22, 25-11, 25-20. SFU (9-13 overall, 6-7 GNAC) sits in sixth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with five matches remaining.
SFU saw its two-match win streak come to an end and lost for just the second time in its last five matches.
Abby Willett had a team-high 9 kills and hit at a .389 percentage to lead the Red Leafs.
Kalyn Hartmann had six kills and one ace, hitting at a .278 clip, and
Jocelyn Sherman had six kills in 19 attempts and two aces.
Eva Person had 23 set assists and 10 digs for the Red Leafs.
Kalissa Beltran
Central Washington (14-8, 9-5 GNAC) had a 46-36 edge in kills and outhit the Red Leafs, .417 - .157. The Wildcats also had an 8-4 edge in blocks and 49-39 advantage in digs.
SFU led in the opening set, at 3-2, but lost the lead and trailed 17-12. SFU pulled to within 22-21 but the Wildcats ended the set with a kill, SFU service error and ace.
The Red Leafs never led in the second set as the Wildcats won easily.
The two teams exchanged leads throughout the third set, and the set was tied 13 times. With the score locked at 16-16, the Wildcats went on a 6-2 run to pull away, winning 25-20.
SFU will return to action on the road Saturday against Northwest Nazarene at noon (PT). The following week the team has home games on Nov. 3 vs Saint Martin's (7pm) and Nov. 5 vs Western Oregon (7pm). The game Nov. 5 will be the team's Senior Night.
#RepTheLeaf
