ELLENSBURG, Wash. - The No. 20 Point Loma volleyball team suffered its first loss of the 2015 season when it fell in five sets to Central Washington, 25-23, 16-25, 21-25, 26-24 and 15-11, at the GNAC/PacWest Crossover Challenge on Thursday, Sept. 10.
 
This was the first loss of the season for the Sea Lions (4-1) and first win for the Wildcats (1-3).
 
Heather Leavitt and Bethany Mandon had 14 kills apiece to pace the Sea Lions. Leavitt also added 19 digs for her fifth straight double-double. Kelli LeClair added 13 kills and 15 digs for a double-double of her own. Christin Fisher posted a match-high 22 digs and Savannah Wedemeyer 54 assists in the loss.
 
Point Loma dropped the first set but fought back to win the second and third sets and take a 2-1 lead. In the fourth set, PLNU jumped on top 16-12 before CWU retook the lead with a 9-2 run to go up 21-19. Point Loma never again led in the set but battled to the end to push CWU to extra points where the Wildcats won 26-24.
 
In the fifth and deciding set, Central Washington scored the first four points out of the box and the Sea Lions could never take the lead. They tied the set at 6-6 and had it within one for most of the set but CWU closed out on a 5-2 run to hand PLNU its first loss of the season.
 
Kaitlin Quirk had 15 kills and just one error for a .560 hitting percentage to lead the Wildcats. Linden Firethorn added a match-high 16 kills. CWU posted a .247 hitting percentage compared to a .193 mark for PLNU. This is the first time all season PLNU has lost the hitting percentage battle. The Wildcats also owned a 12-4 advantage in blocks, which included five solo rejections.
 
Point Loma will return to action tomorrow in a top 25 matchup at the GNAC/PacWest Crossover Challenge against No. 14 Alaska Anchorage at 9:00 a.m.