Box score, play-by-play
 
SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific Falcons came up with more kills, more attacks, more digs and a better hitting percentage on Thursday night.
 
They just couldn't come with more points in the deciding fifth game of their Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match against Central Washington.
 
Cailin Fellows posted a double-double of 21 kills and 17 digs, and Shelby Swanson had 59 assists and 14 digs, but Central rallied from a two games to one deficit to beat the Falcons in their home opener, 3-2.
 
Scores in Brougham Pavilion were 25-23, 20-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-13.
 
“We outplayed them the whole match, and the stats say that,” SPU coach Chris Johnson said. “We just made too many critical errors at key times, especially in that last game. We gave them six points in a Game 5, and it's tough to survive that.”
 
The Falcons fell to 4-9, 1-3 GNAC heading into Saturday's 2 p.m. match in Broughm against Northwest Nazarene, which fell in five at Montana State Billings on Thursday. Central improved to 9-4, 4-1 GNAC.
 
Senior outside hitter Fellows (Edmonds, Wash. / Edmonds-Woodway HS) tied her career high for kills, a total she now has achieved three times, including twice this season. Her 17 digs beat her previous best of 15, which she set on Sept. 4 at San Francisco State. The double-double was her first of the season and third of her career.
 
Senior setter Swanson (Kennewick, Wash. / Kamiakin HS) came within one of her career high for assists. Her 14 digs matched a season high. Swanson now has five double-doubles for the season and 22 for her career.
 
Also delivering career-best performances on Thursday were sophomore Brianna Leenders (Portland, Ore.) with 31 digs (old high 29), freshman outside hitter Jackie Arnold (Anaheim, Calif.) with 11 kills and 20 attacks (old highs were nine and 17, respectively), and sophomore outside hitter Jessica Miller (Fife, Wash. / Fife HS) with four block assists (old mark was two).
 
Junior middle blocker Nikki Lowell (Claremont, Calif.) put down a season-high 15 kills and had eight block assists. Miller added 13 kills.
 
“We saw a great physical and mental effort in every single game,” Johnson said. “We were very focused and really going toe to toe with them. We had way better ball control tonight, and we had three times as many sets to our middles as we did last week in Billings – that was huge for us.
 
“Our block was definitely there. … It was the best defense we've played this year,” Johnson added. “Other teams might  have had a lower hitting percentage against us, but it was the best defense we've played against a good offense like that.”
 
After climbing into a 23-23 tie in the opening game before Central got the final two points, SPU put together a 4-0 run in Game 2, snapping an 11-11 tie and taking the lead for good. Coming out of the intermission at one game apiece, the Falcons then ran off the first six points of Game 3 – with five of those on blocks. Central eventually got untracked and tied it at 19-19, but the Falcons scored six of the final seven point, including the last four.
 
The Wildcats used a 6-0 run to break an 11-11 tie in the fourth game, never letting Seattle Pacific closer than three after that. Central Washington raced to a 6-2 lead in the fifth game. The Falcons rallied to 11-11, but never could get back in front. Central clinched it on Marcy Hjellum's career-high 22^nd kill of the night.
 
SPU out-hit Central, .182 to .161 and had a season-high 72 kills, 203 attacks, 92 digs and 24 block assists. The Wildcats had 11 fewer swings (192), but made 10 fewer errors (25).
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Central Washington 3, Seattle Pacific 2
 
Game scores – 25-23, 20-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-13.
 
Service aces – CWU 5 (Catie Fry 3), SPU 3 (Brianna Leenders 2). Kills – CWU 56 (Marcy Hjellum 22), SPU 72 (Cailin Fellows 21, Nikki Lowell 17, Jessica Miller 13, Jackie Arnold 11). Assists – CWU 53 (Fry 44), SPU 66 (Shelby Swanson 59). Digs – CWU 81 (Zoe Iida 22), SPU 92 (Leenders 31). Block assists / solo – CWU 24 / 1 solo (Erin Smith 6 / 1 solo), SPU 24 / 1 solo (Nikki Lowell 8 / 0 solo). Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – CWU 56-25-192--.161 (Hjellum 22-6-69—.232), SPU 72-35-203--.182 (Arnold 11-3-20--.400). Attendance – 212.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 4-9, 1-3 GNAC. Central Washington 9-4, 4-1 GNAC.
 
Next match – Northwest Nazarene at Seattle Pacific, Saturday, Brougham Pavilion, 2:00 p.m.