Women's Volleyball | 10/1/2014 11:23:00 AM

GAME NOTES

ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Oct. 1) – The 18^th ranked Central Washington University volleyball team is back on the road again this week, travelling up North to Bellingham and Canada to take on Western Washington and Simon Fraser in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
The Wildcats (10-3) enter the week tied with both schools for fourth place in the GNAC with identical 3-2 marks in the conference, making this week a pivotal one for CWU.
 
"It's a important week for us as we go on the road to play two tough teams that play well at home," CWU Head Coach Mario Andaya said.  "We know the implications of this road trip, its an early season trip but yet very important as teams are trying to gain separation within the conference."
 
Western Washington (10-4), who enters this week ranked 11^th in the Nation, has a three-game winning streak against the Wildcats.  However, CWU has won four out of the past seven contests.  The game will feature two of the best liberos in the Nation, as Kaely Kight and WWU's Samantha Hutchinson will be guarding the back line in the contest.  Hutchinson ranks first in the nation on both total digs and digs per set, while Kight ranks 38^th. 
 
"Going into a hostile environment at Western we need to make sure that we are playing at a high level defensively," Andaya added. "Western is a solid all-around team and playing in Carver is always difficult, so our offense will need to play well to keep pressure on them."
 
Despite losing the first 13 matchups against Simon Fraser (9-4), the Wildcats still hold a 28-22 all-time record over the Clan, including seven of the last eight contests.  The one win SFU had over CWU in those contest came last year in Burnaby, B.C.
 
"Simon Fraser returned a good mix of players from last years team and they are playing really well right now," Andaya added. "Again we have to stay composed in a tough environment and control our side of the net in order to be successful."