ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University volleyball team remains on its home court as they invite Western Oregon for a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest that starts at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Western Oregon vs. Wildcats
Thursday | 7 p.m. PT
Nicholson Pavilion | Ellensburg, Wash.  
  
LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats split a pair of weekday games against Northwest Nazarene and MSU Billings. The Wildcats were nixed by the Nighthawks 3-2 (22-25, 24-26, 25-9, 29-27, 11-15) last Tuesday. The Wildcats swatted the Yellowjackets 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-18) last Thursday. 
 
Statistically, the Wildcats owned the Nighthawks throughout the contest. Offensively, the Wildcats drilled 69 kills to the Nighthawks' 52. Gabrielle Aihara and Sydney Remsberg teamed up for 64 assists as Aihara led the way with 33. Defensively, the Wildcats had 15 total blocks and scooped up 87 digs. Ultimately, the Wildcats hindered their own performance by committing 31 attack errors. 

Four Wildcats finished the match with double figure kills. Makala Swart had a dominate night for the Wildcats. She led the team with 19 kills on a .250 hitting percentage. Swart added five total blocks with nine digs. Bridgette Webb played well, totaling 12 kills and six total blocks. Ashley Kaufman and Diana Fa'amausili finished with 11 kills. Kaufman added 17 digs for a double-double.
 
Defensively Julia Mellander led the Wildcats with seven total blocks. Kyla Morgan led the team with 27 digs. Remsberg had 13 digs along with 27 assists for a double-double. 
 
The Wildcats welcomed back Lexi Schamadan to the rotation last week after the sophomore missed a handful of matches with an injury. Schamadan found her rhythm against the Yellowjackets last Thursday. The Phoenix, Arizona native finished the match with 10 kills on a .261 hitting percentage. She also had two total blocks and two digs. 
 
Schamadan did not lead the Wildcats with kills at the end of the night. It was Swart who pioneered the Wildcat offense with 12 kills on a .324 hitting percentage. Swart added seven digs and one total block. Another standout for the Wildcats included Kaufman. The freshman pounded seven kills on an impressive .375 hitting percentage. 
 
Hitters were helped by excellent sets from Aihara and Remsberg. Aihara led the squad with 21 assists, while Remsberg joined in with 10 of her own. The duo helped power a Wildcat offense that finished the game with a .226 hitting percentage. 
 
Even with the strong offense, the Wildcat defense was much more fearsome. The Wildcats were able to hold the Yellowjackets to a .096 hitting percentage for the match. The Wildcats forced 23 attack errors from the Yellowjackets, 10 more than the Wildcats had. 
 
Webb led the team's defense at the net. The senior out of Yakima ended the match with four total blocks. Fa'amausili had four total blocks while Mellander had three. Fa'amausili and Mellander each had a solo block during the match. Kyla Morgan put together a strong night as well with 21 digs. 
 
GNAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kyla Morgan reached a career-milestone that propelled her to her second Great Northwest Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week award this season. 
 
Morgan became the only player in program history to eclipse 2,000 career digs last week. Morgan passed Kaely Kight's 1,955 digs from the 2011 to the 2014 season to become the new program leader earlier this season. 
 
Morgan's 2,037 career digs rank fifth all-time in GNAC history. Morgan has the potential to pass Simon Fraser's Alison McKay who racked up 2,094 digs from 2013 to 2016. Morgan has consistently provided strong defense for the Wildcats. She's averaged 5.28 digs per set, good enough for sixth best all-time in the GNAC. 
 
Morgan has made an impact throughout her career. As a freshman, Morgan had 508 digs and averaged just under five digs per set. She improved on her mark during her sophomore campaign, in which she had 589 digs and averaged 5.12 digs per set. 
 
Morgan's best season came a year ago. She was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year after racking up 596 digs. She averaged 5.8 digs per set. Morgan led the conference in both categories. Along with the conference accolade, Morgan earned D2CCA All-West Region Honors, was a Member of the West Regional All-Tournament Team. She also earned American Volleyball Coaches Association All-West Region Team and was AVCA All-American Honorable Mention.
 
Morgan has continued to play well throughout the early stages of her senior season. Morgan has 345 digs over 62 sets played this season. Morgan's average of 5.5 digs per set is the second best in conference and ranks 23^rd nationally. 
 
Last week, Morgan had 48 digs over eight sets of action. Last Tuesday, she racked up 27 digs against Northwest Nazarene. The number was good enough for her fourth-most in a single game this season. Morgan added 21 digs against Montana State University Billings. Offensively, she came through with eight assists and two service aces on the week. 

WILDCATS IN THE GNAC
The conference continues to work itself out as teams meet for the first time. The Wildcats rank fourth in conference by keeping opponents to a .175 hitting percentage. They rank fourth in blocks by averaging 2.21 per set. The team ranks second with 17.53 digs per set.

Several individuals are putting together quality seasons for the Wildcats. Morgan ranks second in conference with 5.56 digs per set. Mellander ranks third in conference with 1.13 blocks per set. Fa'amausili ranks eighth in blocks with .94 per set. 
 
Experienced players highlight the offensive standouts for the Wildcats. Aihara's 9.71 assists per set is the third best in conference. Swart ranks fourth in conference with 3.38 kills per set. The team also ranks third in both assists (12.10) and kills (12.94) per set. 
 
SCOUTING WESTERN OREGON
The Wolves were picked to finish 10^th in the 2019 GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll. They finished 2018 averaging 11.02 kills per set and was third in the GNAC with 1.53 aces per set. After the season, WOU did not renewed former head coach Tommy Gott's contract. Now at the helm is Stacy Metro. 
 
Metro comes to the Wolves with 19 years of coaching experience, including two stops as an assistant at the Division I level. Most recently serving as the head coach at Churchill High School, the veteran coach has served as an assistant at the University of Oregon, Northern Michigan, Chico State and Kansas State University. She also has collegiate head coaching experience in beach volleyball, leading the Ducks' program for the past six seasons.
 
The Wolves are 3-12 as the 2019 season nears the midway point. The team is 1-7 in conference, picking up their lone win against Saint Martin's on Oct. 3. The Wolves beat the Saints 3-1(26-24, 25-13, 15-25, 32-30). 
 
Sianna DeCarli returns as the team's standout after averaging 1.69 kills per set with a .194 hitting percentage last season. She's building on the performance from 2018 with 141 kills over 51 sets played for an average of 2.76 kills per set this season. Newcomer Sarah Crowell is another offensive standout, averaging 2.04 kills per set. The Wolves offense runs through Aubrey Stanton, who has 377 assists for an average of 7.39 assists per set. 

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats are 24-10 against the Wolves since 2002. The Wildcats are 14-3 inside Nicholson Pavilion and are 10-7 on the campus of Western Oregon. Over the last 10 matches, the Wildcats are 9-1 including an eight-match win streak. In 2018, the Wildcats beat the Wolves 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 25-23) in Monmouth, Ore. before sweeping the Wolves 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-21) 
at home.