ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Saint Martin's volleyball team (12-8. 2-8 GNAC) came up short on Thursday night against cross-state rival Central Washington University (11-7, 6-4 GNAC), falling by a score 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-12) Nicholson Pavilion.
 
Set one was deadlocked most of the way before SMU notched itself in the driver's seat midway through. With the score tied at 13, the Saints ripped off seven straight points with Karla Soto serving, including three Jennifer Soha kills, kills by Maddy Gooding and Emmy Hansen, as well as a block from Soha and Gooding. Down 20-13, it was then Central Washington's turn to go on some runs, as the Wildcats had three different spurts of four straight points, with a final run starting with them down 24-22. CWU would take the first 26-24.
 
The second set was another more evenly match contest, but not before an early run put the Wildcats up from the jump. Facing a 21-13 deficit, the Saints battled back into the contest and were able to score eight of the final 12 points while falling 25-21. The third set was essentially two CWU points for every one SMU tally, and the Saints fell in the match 3-0.
 
Volleyball stays on the road this Saturday, October 15^th, when they head to Nampa, Idaho to take on Northwest Nazarene (13-5, 6-4 GNAC). That game will start at 1 PM MT at the Johnson Sports Center.