ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Nov. 11) – The Central Washington University volleyball team has four matches remaining in the regular season, the next two at home.
Central is now No. 24 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, jumping Winona State, and remains as the No. 3 team in the West region. Anchorage has claimed the No. 1 spot in the West, while Western Washington falls to two.
The Wildcats host Saint Martin's University on Thursday (Nov. 12) at 7 p.m., before taking on Seattle Pacific on Saturday (Nov. 14) at 7 p.m. in Nicholson Pavilion.
"This week is a playoff week for us," CWU Head Coach
Mario Andaya said. "We need to make sure we are ready for our opponent and treat it like a playoff game and not take any chances as far as preparation goes."
Saint Martin's University is in the midst of a 13-game losing streak, including a 0-12 record on the road. The Saints have posted a 1-15 record in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
When Central visited Lacey earlier this season the Wildcats rolled to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-23) sweep over Saint Martin's.
Linden Firethorne recorded nine kills and a hitting efficiency of .318.
Kiah Jones added seven kills and hit .316.
Defensively
Madison Weg,
Kaitlin Quirk, and Jones each added 2.5 blocks. The Wildcats held the Saints to a hitting efficiency of .100.
The Saints are coming off losses to Montana State Billings (1-3) and Seattle Pacific (0-3).
Julia Wabinga leads Saint Martin's with 170 kills, but she is hitting just .052 on the season. Kyra Davidson has recorded 141 kills, with a hitting efficiency of .124.
Cassandra Fenton handles the setting duties for the Saints. She has recorded 439 assists.
Davidson enters the week with 16 solo blocks and 73 block assists, totaling a team high 89 blocks. She is the only Saints' player with over 50 blocks on the season. As a team, Saint Martin's averages just 1.96 blocks per set.
"Saint Martin's is a scrappy defensive team, they play a high intensity game," Andaya added. "They feed off everything they do well."
The Falcons of Seattle Pacific find themselves in the bottom half of the conference standings with a 5-11 mark in GNAC play. Overall, SPU is 7-17. The Falcons have won only one match in their last eight. The lone victory was a 3-0 decision over Saint Martin's.
Lexi Biondi and Hannah Lautenbach have provided the majority of the Falcons' offense this season. Biondi's 232 kills is a team high, but Lautenbach follows closely behind with 230.
Symone Tran leads the Falcons with 720 assists, averaging 9.20 per set.
Shaun Crespi and Lautenbach are the leading blockers for SPU. Crespi has a team high 10 solo blocks and is second with 52 block assists. Lautenbach has notched four solo blocks and 57 block assists.
The Wildcats claimed a 3-0 victory the last time these two teams met. Central posted a .461 hitting efficiency and held SPU to a hitting efficiency of just .125. The Wildcats gained 56% of their points off kills.
Firethorne leads the Wildcats with 327 kills on the season. Jones has recorded 223 kills and a hitting efficiency of .230.
Central Washington has reclaimed the title as the nation's leaders in blocking with 2.84 blocks per set. Quirk is 11
th in the nation, individually, with 1.33 blocks per set. Wheelhouse is 10
th in the country at 1.34 blocks per set.
"I thought all weekend our block was a big presence," Andaya noted. "In the UAA game it got us back in the match and slowed down some of their better hitters. Against Harthun, who is a force, we had to try and neutralize, not only her, but some other hitters. We were able to stay the course and it is nice to see us get results."
Catie Fry is now within striking distance of reaching 1,000 assists this season. The senior setter needs just 67 assists to breach quadruple digits. With four matches left, Fry also has potential to surpass her single-season career high of 1,058 assists from the 2013 season.
First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. both days. Live stats and video are available through wildcatsports.com
