Game Information: Central Washington vs. Cal State Los Angeles
Thursday, Nov. 15 | 12:00 p.m. PST
Bellingham, Wash. | WECU Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium
Watch | Live Stats
FIRST SERVE
The seventh-consecutive trip to the NCAA West Regionals for the Central Washington University volleyball team begins with a match against the third seeded Cal State Los Angeles on Thursday at noon.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Cal State Los Angeles
The Golden Eagles finished the 2018 season 22-5. Their 13-4 California Collegiate Athletic Association record landed them in third place in the south division. Including the CCAA tournament, the Golden Eagles finished the season going 2-4 in their final six games. They've played Great Northwest Athletic Conference schools in the Concordia (Ore) and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The Golden Eagles swept the Cavaliers and beat the Nanooks 3-1.
As a team, the Golden Eagles had 1422 kills, averaging 13.9 kills per set. The Wildcats have averaged nearly a kill more per set. The Golden Eagles do not make mistakes when receiving the ball. They're averaging 0.8 reception errors per set. They're wavering 1.7 blocks per set, nearly a whole block less than the Wildcats.
Karla Santos is a player the Wildcats will need to keep in check. She leads the team with 359 kills for an average of 3.78. That ranks her fourth in conference. She has the second most service aces on the team with 31. Mickayla Sherman has 253 kills on the season, second most on the club. Kelsey Molnar leads the group with 845 assists for an average of 9.29 assists per set. Jeshmarie Saurez has had a nice season, reaching 467 digs.
LAST TIME OUT
In their final weekend of the regular season, the CWU volleyball team swept the University of Alaska Anchorage and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
The Wildcats and Seawolves did battle in one of the most competitive matches inside Nicholson Pavilion this season. The Seawolves edged out the Wildcats in kills, gaining 44 to the home team's 43. The Seawolves 48 digs were also one more than the Wildcats could muster. For the Wildcats, the difference came at the net. The Wildcats racked up six blocks to the Seawolves three. The Wildcats added a potent offense attack. The team hit .324 on the evening, besting the Seawolves' .212 hitting percentage.
Throughout the contest, the Wildcats gained two key advantages over the Nanooks. The first came from behind the service line. The Wildcats out-served the Nanooks 4-1 in aces. The other came at the net. The Wildcats blocked 11 of the Nanooks attacks, five more than their opponent. Their efforts at the net helped suppress the Nanook offense to a .145 hitting percentage.
FROM THE COACH
"It will be a fun matchup against LA," head coach Mario Andaya said. "We stack up well statistically against each other. It's just a matter of the moments each team can get into a run. That's going to be dangerous for either team. We have to make sure we are doing our part to stay close to them. They produce a lot of offense and they have a lot of fire power."
"Our key is to be ourselves," Andaya said. "Without knowing an opponent too much, we can look at some tendencies on film, but it will never be like what it is actually going to be like when you're on the court with them. We got to come out with our best stuff. We like what we are doing offensively so if we can produce that and score points off of that, we feel well be in the running."
NEXT TIME OUT
If the Wildcats come out victorious, they'll take on the winner of Cal State San Bernardino and Chaminade on Friday at 5:00 p.m. in Bellingham, Washington.
