ELLENSBURG, Wash. - The #16 California State University women's volleyball team breezed past Western Washington University 3-0 Thursday afternoon in their first match at the Central Washington Invitational at Nicholson Arena. Set scores were 25-17, 25-23, and 25-18.

With the victory, CSUSB improves to 3-2 overall on the season.

The Coyotes trailed the Vikings 9-8 in the early stages of the first set, but responded with a 6-2 run to go ahead 14-10 and never looked back. The Yotes hit .480 in the set with 14 kills and just two errors, led by senior Ashley Robinson (Tucson, Ariz.).

Set two featured an astounding 15 ties and six lead changes, but it was the Coyotes that came out ahead. A kill from senior setter Kylie Thomas (San Bernardino, Calif.) ended up being the clinching point with the Yotes ahead 24-23 down the stretch. Robinson posted seven of CSUSB's 14 kills in the set.

Western Washington kept the third and final set close until the midway point before the Yotes pulled away. After the set was knotted at 15-15, a Savannah Hoffmann (Rialto, Calif.) kill started a 10-3 match-clinching run that saw the Coyotes come out on top. 

Robinson finished as the match's leader in kills with 18, to go along with 10 digs and two blocks. Junior Jordan Cherniss (Colton, Calif.) contributed eight kills without an error to the Coyote offense on Thursday for a .444 attack percentage. She also had 10 digs.

Junior libero Jayden Chornomud (Murrieta, Calif.) led the Yotes with a dozen digs, while freshman Jaiden Van Horn (Elk Ridge, Utah) and Thomas split the setting duties, chipping in 18 and 14 assists respectively.

Next up for the Coyotes, they will take on tournament hosts Central Washington on Friday for a 7 p.m. first serve.
 

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