The SURC was booming, cheers could be heard as you entered the building. A red carpet led the way to courts 3 & 4 in the Recreation Center as both courts and the walkway above were filled to the brim with fans to see the volleyball team.  

This game on Sep. 22 was the home opener against the Montana State University (MSU) Billings Yellowjackets.

“It was just awesome,” junior setter/outside hitter Tia Andaya said. “We were feeding off the energy. When we play in the SURC it feels more full, like it’s packed every night.”

CWU secured the 3-1 win against MSU Billings, only losing the second set by two points. 

“Last weekend was our first home weekend of the season,” Andaya said. “Being able to wake up in my own bed and get my routine down was so nice. You get to come in clear-minded without a bunch of other distractions, things like ‘You have to get on the bus at this time, where are we getting the pre-game snack.’”

The benefits of playing at home don’t only extend to sleep and food. For the players, playing in front of the Wildcat faithful is a welcomed change. 

“Playing in front of Central students and fans is just on another level,” said Andaya. “The energy they bring, you can feel it. You’re playing in front of the people who are rooting for you, so you’re trying to make them proud.”

“It’s relieving,” middle-blocker sophomore Daoud-Hebert said. “It’s great being able to come home from a road trip and see people from the community come out to watch you play.”

Andaya said she tries to not let the excitement get to her, as she finds that it can make her not have full control of her play. 

“I try not to let emotions play that much into how I’m going through it,” said Andaya. “Negative emotions are obviously bad but even too many positive emotions are bad as well. It can just be too up-and-down. For me, staying very neutral, consistent and calm no matter what the situation is kind of helps me play the best and stay level.”

Andaya seems to have remained focused, as she registered a double-double of 12 points and 29 assists, while being just 4 digs short of a triple-double, and helped push the Wildcats to the win. Andaya remained humble about her performance. 

“Pretty good,” Andaya said. “I mean, obviously, there is still a lot of room for improvement. There always is.”

The Wildcats currently sit at 9-6, they play University of Alaska Anchorage in the SURC on Oct 6. The Wildcats feel good about the current state of the team. 

“We have a lot of the same people from last year,” said Andaya. “So there wasn’t that rebuilding period. We could skip to ‘Okay, this is what we need to do right away’ and I think we did that at a very high level at the beginning of the season, and now we’re just putting pieces where they need to go. I think it’s come out really good so far.”

“I feel good,” said Daoud-Hebert. “Mario [Andaya]’s whole mentality is ‘We’re playing to be ready to compete in November,’ and I think with where we are right now, we will be.”