By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Things looked bleak for the hosts in the fifth set at Nicholson Pavilion on Saturday afternoon, as the Central Washington volleyball team found itself behind 13-9 and on the brink of a defeat that would hinder its 2024 Great Northwest Athletic Conference title hopes.
 
Panic never crossed the mind of Wildcat head coach Mario Andaya, as he calmly sat and watched his side rally to win six consecutive points and stun the Alaska Nanooks by swiping the victory late. Morgan Halady had three block assists – two with Scottie Ellsworth to seal the match – and freshman setter Kayleigh-Shay Chang held serve for five consecutive points to help CWU storm back from what was almost certainly a defeat.
 
“We all have a lot on the line, and Fairbanks has been playing very good statistically,” Andaya said on what has turned into a neck-and-neck GNAC title race. “We knew we had to endure a lot and control our side of the net against those guys. If we had our best stuff against their best stuff we knew it was going to be a great game and we expected it to go the distance. We have drilled and practiced being down big and have worked on not backing down. It worked out in our favor Saturday.”
 
The Wildcats (14-6, 12-2 GNAC), who were named GNAC Team of the Week on Monday, are now tied for first place in the GNAC standings with Simon Fraser (16-5, 12-2) with four matches remaining in the regular season. CWU is in search of its first GNAC title since winning back-to-back crowns in 2004-05, after finishing as the runner-up last season and being tabbed the preseason favorite in the 2024 coaches poll. The common theme amid another successful season from the Wildcats has been the strong presence of its veteran leadership, with a roster that features four fifth-year seniors. “That might be the biggest factor, because they have been through grinds like this before,” Andaya said on his veterans keying Saturday’s improbable comeback victory. “They know what it is like to be in a playoff race against a playoff-caliber team. The emotions we felt were all led by seniors, and Hannah (Stires) and Emma (Daoud-Hebert) were just incredible. Even when they struggled, they continued to keep fighting. Our leadership right now is very experienced and has been through it before. That is really helping the young players for us.”
 
Preceding CWU’s dramatic win over the Nanooks, who would have moved within half a game of the Wildcats with a win, CWU swept Alaska Anchorage in its first match of the week. Senior libero Hannah Stires had 20 digs within the first two sets against the Seawolves, and followed with 33 against the Nanooks. It was the second-highest single-match total of her career, the highest by a GNAC player this fall and earned the Nine Mile Falls, Wash., native her second GNAC Player of the Week award of the fall. “She is our emotional leader out there, is the one that calms the troops and she shows a lot of passion out there. At Anchorage she had 20 digs in the first two sets, and she just won’t let the ball drop. That combined with the passion she shows every day in training has inspired a lot of these kids on our team. She is our rock – a she knows it and has embraced it. We have been relying on her for a lot and she’s coming through.”
 
The ’Cats have relied on one of the most prolific middle blockers in GNAC history as well, with senior Emma Daoud-Hebert making contributions on both sides of the ball this season. Daoud-Hebert leads the GNAC and ranks third nationally with a hitting percentage of .430, while ranking seventh in the league with 1.08 blocks per set. Daoud-Hebert’s 461 career total blocks are seventh-most in GNAC history and her average of 1.32 blocks per set ranks her sixth in GNAC history.
 
“Emma has really grown in all parts of her game, even on the service line, which means she’s putting in the work to be a really good volleyball player,” Andaya said of the 2023 All-American. “She knows how to be double and triple teamed and free up others and is willing to take that role of being keyed on and come through in different ways. She may not be getting all the blocks that she has before, but she keeps coming through with big moments and staying more active on offense. That is an indicator of what she’s bought into this year.”
 
A breakout season from Marianna Payne has supplied the bulk of the offense for CWU, as she averages 3.31 kills per set to rank third in the conference. The senior from Camas, Wash., racked up 13 kills in the win over the Seawolves and followed with 14 more to aid in the victory over the Nanooks. “Being injured last year was frustrating for her,” Andaya said on Payne, who was limited to just three matches in 2023. “She has put in the work finding her new position on the outside and has learned how physical she can be in tough moments. She has believed in herself, and she has bought into the team aspect of it. She is a physical presence, and when you get her and Emma in the front of the net it’s very difficult for teams to stop.”
 
A total of 15 blocks was just another typical week for Halady, another key senior that CWU has counted on all season long. Entering this week’s games, Halady ranks second in the conference with 1.17 blocks per set and is fourth in the league with a hitting percentage of .315. The Indianola, Wash., native has played in all 39 of the Wildcats’ matches during her two-year career dating back to last fall. “Morgan flies under the radar,” Andaya said. “She and Emma have caused havoc for a lot of teams and opened up our offense. This weekend she came up with so many big blocks for us. She has become a key factor for our team, and the energy she brings matches really well with our team.”
 
Sophomore Ellie Marble has started 18 of 20 matches and ranks second on the squad with 2.65 kills per set. Marble had double-doubles in both matches last week, with 11 kills and 12 digs against the Seawolves and 11 kills and 14 digs against the Nanooks. “When our leaders made her floor captain early this year, it shows how much she means to this team,” Andaya said on the second-year Wildcat out of La Conner, Wash. “She is a nucleus in a lot of ways for our program, and lets a lot of our players shine. When she is on the court it really matters for us.”
 
The tightening of the title race creates perhaps the most intriguing weekend of the season thus far, as CWU plays at third-place Western Washington (11-9, 10-4 GNAC) on Thursday night (7 p.m. PT) before a must-see affair against the Red Leafs on Saturday evening (5 p.m. PT). “We are not going to take this as some ordinary week,” said Andaya. “We have worked so hard to put ourselves in this position and so has Western Washington and Simon Fraser. We know the implications and if we aren’t prepared, it is on us. But we have been preparing for this since last January and we are blessed to be in it. We want to make sure we’re ready because we know our opponents are. We are excited about the title race and we know it’s one game at a time. But if you can’t get up for this, then you can’t get up for anything.”