Women's Volleyball | 12/2/2015 10:52:00 AM
ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Dec. 2) – The Central Washington University volleyball team heads to Anchorage, Alaska for the 2015 NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball West Region Tournament, making it the fourth straight appearance for the Wildcats.
The fifth seeded Wildcats will take on fourth seeded Cal State San Bernardino.
Seniors
Catie Fry,
Linden Firethorne,
Kaitlin Quirk and
Rachel Hanses have now qualified for the NCAA West Regional Tournament each season, a first for a GNAC school.
"What these girls have been able to accomplish is truly remarkable," Andaya said of his senior core. "As freshman I knew we had a special group and making it to four straight tournaments speaks to their ability to play the game and lead our team. We have a senior heavy team, but we also have a lot of talented underclassmen who now know what it takes to contend in our region."
The Wildcats finished the regular season with a 20-7 mark and a 16-4 record within the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The Coyotes finished with a 26-5 record, 17-3 in the California Collegiate Athletics Association.
Through 10 meetings CWU is 2-8 against San Bernardino, including four regional matches in which the Coyotes pulled out a win. The Wildcats have won two of the last three meetings between the two sides, however.
"San Bernardino is a very good team, with some very talented players," Andaya said of his opponent. "They are no stranger to us though, we know what they bring to the table and we have practiced accordingly. As long as we play the way we are capable of playing we will have a great opportunity to win this matchup."
The Coyotes are making their 16
th consecutive appearance in an NCAA Tournament.
Alexandra Torline leads the Coyotes offense with 413 kills, averaging 3.69 kills per set.
Malika O'Brien (285), Lauren Nicholson (276), Ashley Solis (224), and Brenna McIntosh (209) have all accumulated over 200 kills on the season.
Jayann DeHoog dished out 1,275 assists, an average of 11.18 per set. DeHoog is 13
th in the NCAA Division II for assists per set.
The Coyotes are the fourth best team in Division II when it comes to blocking, averaging 2.80 blocks per set. O'Brien is 16
th in Division II with 1.26 blocks per set and a total of 140 blocks on the season. San Bernardino has recorded 328 blocks this season.
While the Coyotes crack the NCAA's top 20 in blocking, the Wildcats are the nation's leading blockers. Central Washington averages 2.92 blocks per set. Individually,
Sabrina Wheelhouse is eighth, averaging 1.37 blocks per set. Quirk is right behind her with 1.36 blocks per set, good enough for ninth in the country. She also tallied a team high 135 blocks, with Wheelhouse putting up 133.
"The play at the net is going to be critical for both teams," Andaya added. "Both of us pose major threats on the block and will play a huge factor on the outcome of this match."
Offensively, Firethorne leads the Wildcats with 365 kills.
Kiah Jones is behind her at 251. Fry has handed out 1,057 assists, an average of 10.26 per set.
First serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. PDT at the Alaska Air Lines Center. The winner will play the winner of eighth seeded Dixie State and first seeded Alaska Anchorage on Saturday (Dec. 5) at 9:30 p.m. PDT.
