Women's Volleyball | 10/14/2014 11:13:00 AM
ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Oct. 14) -- The Central Washington University volleyball team will complete its four-game home stand when they take on Western Oregon University this Thursday Oct. 16 and Saint Martin's University on Saturday Oct. 18. Both games are scheduled to start at 7 P.M.
There is a good chance Wildcat fans will be able to witness history this week as libero
Kaely Kight is on pace to break the all-time digs record. If she keeps her average of 5.36 digs per set, she is guaranteed to become the all-time digs leader this week as she trails All-American record holder Brandie Vea by just 22 digs.
The Saint's (4-16, 1-8 GNAC) and the Wolves (2-15, 0-9 GNAC) come to Ellensburg as the ninth and tenth placed teams in the conference respectively, while the Wildcats sit in fifth place. If the Wildcats win both games, they have the potential to climb up the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings.
The Wildcats are a healthy 7-1 at home this season and have beaten both teams once already. In their last 19 home games the Wildcats are 17-2 and since 2012 boast a 22-6 home record.
The matchup with Western Oregon will feature two of the best defensive teams in the conference. The Wolves have held their opponents to a .183 hitting percentage so far this season which is slightly better than the Wildcats number of .190. CWU and WOU rank second and third respectively in blocks, with the Wildcats being led by
Kaitlin Quirk who has totaled 60 blocks this season which is fourth most in the conference.
"We are going into this match expecting a defensive battle as Western Oregon is one of the better digging teams and has a great block on the right side which poses some challenges for us," CWU Head Coach
Mario Andaya said. "On the other end I feel we are playing well defensively and we are looking to neutralize some of their biggest threats."
On the flip side, Saint Martins has the second worst opponent hitting percentage in the conference at .201. This should allow for a big game for the Wildcat hitters who lead the conference with a .224 hitting percentage.
Linden Firethorne and
Jordan Deming are the Wildcats more efficient hitters at .245 and .242 respectively.
"The key in this match is our offensive effort, we need to stay aggressive and keep Saint Martins off balance," Andaya added. "If we can do that and continue to make a strong defensive effort we should be in a good position to be successful in this matchup."
