ELLENSBURG (Sept. 1) -- Although the weather in Ellensburg still hasn't yet turned to traditional summer-like conditions in the Kittitas Valley, the calendar changes to the month of September and the beginning of fall for Central Washington University athletics teams as playing seasons commence this weekend.

Three of Central's four fall sports teams will open their 2011 seasons Labor Day weekend, with the volleyball and women's soccer programs sharing the distinction of debuting the 2011-12 athletic campaign with their 7 p.m. openers on Thursday at Humboldt State and Cal State Stanislaus, respectively. Football, meanwhile, begins its 2011 campaign on Friday at high noon by hosting the Rodeo Bowl game against Texas A&M-Kingsville at Tomlinson Stadium.

VOLLEYBALL
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE:
Thursday, Sept. 1-Saturday, Sept. 3 at Humboldt State University Invitational, Arcata, CA
Thursday, Sept. 1 vs. Humboldt State, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 2 vs. Academy of Art, 2 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 3 vs. Cal State East Bay, 10 a.m.
Saturday, Sept. 3 vs. Notre Dame de Namur, 1 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 6 vs. Dominican, 3:30 p.m. (at San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA)
Tuesday, Sept. 6 at San Francisco State, 7 p.m. (San Francisco, CA)
Wednesday, Sept. 7 at Notre Dame de Namur, 7 p.m. (Belmont, CA)

STAYING TUNED:
Thursday-Saturday (all matches except 10 a.m. Saturday vs. CSUEB): Live Stats / Video Stream
Tuesday at SF State: Live Stats / Video Stream TBA
Wednesday at Notre Dame de Namur: Live Stats / Video Stream TBA

PROBABLE STARTERS (depends on rotation)
S -- 4 Carlee Marble (5-8, Sr., La Conner, WA/La Conner HS)
OH -- 5 Meg Ryan (5-11, Sr., Spokane, WA/Mead HS)
OH -- 6 Emmy Dolan (5-11, So., Castle Rock, WA/Castle Rock HS)
OH -- 7 Jordan Offutt (5-11, Jr., Leavenworth, WA/Cascade HS)
MB -- 12 Cheltzie Williams (5-10, Fr., Twin Falls, ID/Twin Falls HS)
MB -- 17 Erin Smith (5-10, So., Selah, WA/Selah HS)
LB -- 22 Chelsie Vea (5-3, So., Honolulu, HI/Kalani HS)

GNAC PRE-SEASON POLL: 5th of 10
2010 RECORD: 13-10, 11-7 GNAC (fifth place)

WOMEN'S SOCCER
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE:
Thursday, Sept. 1 at Cal State Stanislaus, 7 p.m. (Turlock, CA)
Saturday, Sept. 3 at Sonoma State, 1 p.m. (Rohnert Park, CA)
Monday, Sept. 5 at San Francisco State, 2 p.m. (San Francisco, CA)

STAYING TUNED:
Thursday at CSU Stanislaus: Live Stats / Video Stream
Saturday at Sonoma State: Live Stats
Monday at SF State: Live Stats

PROBABLE STARTERS (vs. Cal State Stanislaus)
GK -- 28 Kori Butterfield (5-8, So., Duvall, WA/Cedarcrest HS)
D -- 6 Hillary Franks (5-9, Sr., Yakima, WA/West Valley HS)
D -- 13 Allie Washburn (5-5, Jr., Bremerton, WA/Central Kitsap HS)
D -- 14 Tarah Duty (5-4, So., Black Diamond, WA/Tahoma HS)
MF -- 4 Miranda Heslep (5-10, Sr., Bellingham, WA/Meridian HS)
MF -- 7 Alex Jensen (5-7, Sr., Yakima, WA/West Valley HS)
MF -- 12 Taylor Stanley (5-5, Fr., Mukilteo, WA/Kamiak HS)
MF -- 15 Hadli Farrand (5-8, Fr., Ellensburg, WA/Ellensburg HS)
MF -- 20 Zoey Olmstead (5-5, Fr., West Linn, OR/West Linn HS)
F -- 17 Amy Pate (5-7, Sr., Federal Way, WA/Thomas Jefferson HS)
F -- 23 Savanna Moorehouse (5-11, Fr., Bonney Lake, WA/Bonney Lake HS)

GNAC PRE-SEASON POLL: 5th of 8
2010 RECORD: 4-12-2, 4-9-1 GNAC (sixth place)

FOOTBALL
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE:
Friday, Sept. 2 vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville, Noon (TOMLINSON STADIUM) -- Buy Tickets

STAYING TUNED:
Live Stats / Live Video / Live Audio

PROBABLE STARTERS: Read game notes, complete with projected two-deep roster, by clicking here.

GNAC PRE-SEASON POLL: 1st of 5
2010 RECORD: 8-3, 7-1 GNAC (first place)