By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – The sign of a resilient team is its ability to bounce back, and that’s exactly what Central Washington volleyball did last week.
 
The reigning Great Northwest Athletic Conference co-regular season champions were upended in their first two conference matches of the season but had a short memory as they took care of business with consecutive sweeps in their next two contests. After defeating No. 19 Alaska 3-0 and an Alaska Anchorage team that received votes in the national poll 3-0, the Wildcats were selected as the Athletic Solutions GNAC Team of the Week on Monday.
 
“After a tough week, I am most proud of our collective buy-in,” CWU head coach Lauren Herseth said on her unit’s response to the losses. “The commitment to our standards was evident, and this group was able to focus on the right things. To come out with two big wins was just the icing on the cake.”
 
Central Washington (6-4, 2-2 GNAC) started its week with a resounding 3-0 win over the Seawolves, limiting UAA to a .128 attack percentage. Newly-named GNAC Offensive Player of the Week Ellie Marble was the catalyst in Thursday’s match, punching down 17 kills on a .378 attack percentage. She also completed her second double-double of the year, chipping in 11 digs for 19.0 total points in the victory. Second-year libero Brooklyn Parker led the team with 18 digs while third-year setter Kayleigh-Shay Chang delivered 25 assists and Addie Allen added 18. Also reaching statistical double figures was Mya VanderYacht, who totaled 13 digs in the three-set affair. “Our mission going into the UAA match was to operate from a place of improving vs. proving,” Herseth said. “We served tough which cracked open the door for everything else, and our team was able to run with it from there.”
 
 
The Wildcats were then even sharper on Saturday against the nationally-ranked Nanooks, holding Alaska to its worst hitting percentage of the season at .100. Marble led the way once again with 13 kills this time on a .407 swinging percentage, while Corinne Westby also reached double digits with 10 kills on a .444 attack percentage. Parker wrapped up a solid defensive week with 17 more digs while Chang and Allen contributed 15 assists apiece. “Alaska is a very physical group, so we had to be sharp on defense,” said Herseth. “I thought our touches and ball control were lights out, and it allowed our offense to get hot. Our setters did a great job distributing the ball, and that made us difficult to handle.”
 
The Wildcats’ .319 attack percentage against the Seawolves and .309 attack percentage against the Nanooks were their best and third-best single-match figures of the season, respectively. It wasn’t CWU’s first win over a nationally-ranked opponent this season, as it took down No. 4 Point Loma in consecutive sets on the opening weekend of the season on its way to a 3-0 start.
 
Herseth, a four-year player for the Wildcats from 2011-14, is in her first season as head coach after a long tenure as the Wildcats’ top assistant. CWU has advanced to the NCAA West Region Championships in 13 consecutive seasons dating back to Herseth’s sophomore season as a player, and the Wildcats won the 2024 GNAC regular-season title outright prior to last year’s share of the crown.
 
The Wildcats hit the road this week as conference play carries on. Next up is a Thursday night (7 p.m. Pacific) affair at Western Oregon (6-5, 2-1) followed by a Sunday afternoon (4 p.m. Pacific) match at Saint Martin’s (5-6, 1-2). “Every week is a new challenge,” Herseth said. “WOU and SMU are playing well and as we know – there are no nights off in this conference. Our goal is to build on what we did this week while continuing to evolve so we can play our best volleyball in November/December.”
 
GNAC Team of the Week presented by Athletic Solutions
Athletic Solutions became a GNAC partner in 2025 and is the official sponsor of the GNAC Team of the Week award. Athletic Solutions is a national leader in NIL fan engagement and e-commerce technology, collaborating with colleges and universities to bring NIL Locker Rooms to life. Its platform simplifies NIL opportunities, providing student-athletes with the tools and exposure needed to thrive in the evolving landscape of college athletics.