ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball schedule rolls over as teams begin to play each other for a second time this season. The Central Washington University volleyball team travels to Lacey, Wash. for a rematch with Saint Martin's on Thursday at 7 p.m.  
 
GAME INFORMATION
Wildcats at Saint Martin's
Thursday | 7 p.m. PT
Marcus Pavilion | Lacey, Wash.  
 
QUOTABLE
"SMU has a lot of versatile players," CWU Head Coach Mario Andaya said. "We need to play very good volleyball against a team that can change it up at any time." 
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats handled the Western Oregon Wolves in straight sets last Thursday. Then on Saturday, the Wildcats shut out Concordia (Ore.). 
 
Defense was the theme for the Wildcats on Thursday. The team held the Wolves to a .147 hitting percentage. The Wolves could only muster 29 kills on the match. Julia Mellander and Diana Fa'amausili were stout at the net. Mellander led the way with five total blocks, while Fa'amausili added three total blocks of her own. Offensively, the Wildcats had 44 kills on a .297 hitting percentage. They gained a major advantage from behind the service line as they totaled eight service aces to the Wolves' two.  
 
Makala Swart tied for a match-high 11 kills on the evening. She had an outstanding .360 hitting percentage. Ashley Kaufman also had a strong night, racking up nine kills and 15 digs. Fa'amausili added to her excellent defensive performance with eight kills. 
 
Gabrielle Aihara and Sydney Remsberg ran an efficient offense. Aihara led the way with 18 assists, while Remsberg wasn't far off with 17 of her own. 
 
The Wildcats put together a strong defensive effort against the Cavaliers. The Wildcats held the Cavaliers to a .136 hitting percentage. The visitors had just 31 kills in the contest. Offensively, the Wildcats gained a massive advantage from behind the service line. The team had seven aces to none from the Cavaliers. It was the first time this season that the Cavaliers went without an ace in a match. The Wildcats were also able to smash home 44 kills on a .238 hitting percentage for the match. 
 
Kaufman was electric for the Wildcats on Saturday. The freshman out of Idaho led the Wildcats with 10 kills on an impressive .292 hitting percentage. Kaufman added two service aces. She completed the double-double by chipping in 13 digs, second most on the team for the match. 
 
Bridgette Webb, Swart and Lexi Schamadan tied with the second most kills on the team with eight. Webb obtained her eight kills on a .348 hitting percentage. Swart added seven digs and two assisted blocks to eight kills. Schamadan finished the night with a block and two digs to go along with her kill total. 
 
Aihara and Remsberg ran a smooth offense. Aihara led everyone with 25 assists on the evening. Remberg had 12 assists and added two service aces and a kill. Kyla Morgan led the game with 22 digs. 
 
GNAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For the second consecutive week, Morgan has been named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week. 
 
Morgan was instrumental for the Wildcats as they picked up two wins last week. The team knocked off Western Oregon 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-17) on Thursday before taking down Concordia (Ore.) 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-14) on Saturday. Morgan had 20 digs in three sets against the Wolves. She beat that performance with 22 digs against the Cavaliers. Over the weekend, Morgan had 42 digs over six sets played for an average of seven digs per set. 
 
Two weeks ago, Morgan became the only player in program history to have 2,000 career digs. Morgan's career total sits at 2,080 digs, good enough for fifth all-time in conference history. She's closing in on passing Alison McKay of Simon Fraser for fourth on the all-time list. Morgan needs just 15 more digs to move into fourth all-time in the conference.

WILDCATS IN THE GNAC
After the first time through the GNAC schedule, the Wildcats find themselves in the top half of the conference statistics. The Wildcats rank fourth in conference by keeping opponents to a .172 hitting percentage. They rank fourth in blocks by averaging 2.19 per set. The team ranks third with 17.62 digs per set.

The defensive is fueled by performances in reception and at the net. Morgan leads the conference with 5.69 digs per set. She also ranks 18^th in the country in the same category. Mellander ranks third in conference with 1.16 blocks per set. Mellander's totals are 37^th best in the country. Fa'amausili ranks 10^th in blocks with .91 per set. 
 
Experienced players highlight the offensive standouts for the Wildcats. Aihara's 9.49 assists per set is the fourth best in conference. Swart ranks fifth in conference with 3.36 kills per set. The team also ranks third in assists (12.22) and is second in kills (13.09) per set. 
 
SCOUTING SAINT MARTIN'S 
The Saints have yet to pick up a win in 2019. Dating back to last season, the Saints have lost 24 matches in a row. Their last win came over Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 25, 2018. The Saints find themselves looking up at the rest of the teams in the GNAC standings. 
 
As a team, the Saints are allowing opponents a .263 hitting percentage while striking at a .091 clip. Opponents are averaging more than four more assists per set than the Saints. The Saints average 14.4 digs per set. 
 
Mackenzie Carter lead the Saints with 133 kills over 44 sets played. She's averaging 3.02 kills per set. The mark is good enough to place Carter inside the top 10 in kills in the GNAC. She ranks ninth overall entering Thursday's match. 
 
Kylie Coon is another standout on the Saints attack. Coon is averaging 2.59 kills per set. Alyssa Bartlett runs the Saints offense. Bartlett has dished out 319 assists over 56 sets played for an average of 5.70 assists per set. 
 
Defensively, Bridgette Bourgouin causes opponents trouble near the ne. Bourgouin has 37 total blocks this season for an average of .80 per set. Kylie Alos leads the team with 241 digs, nearly 100 more than her next closest teammate in Bartlett. Alos averages 4.63 digs per set. 
 
The Wildcats hosted the Saints in the second weekend of GNAC play earlier this season. The Wildcats conquered the Saints 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-18) on Sept. 28 inside Nicholson Pavilion. Kaufman and Webb led the Wildcats with nine kills each. Swart and Fa'amausili finished the contest with eight kills each. As a team, the Wildcats hit at a .381 clip. 
 
Aihara amassed 30 assists on the afternoon. Swart led the Wildcats defensively with 15 digs. She added one block to her total as well.  Webb sat atop the box score in blocks with four. Central was 11-15 in side out opportunities in the first set, converting at a clip of 73 percent.  

SERIES HISTORY
Since the year 2002, the Wildcats own a 33-2 record against the Saints. The Wildcats have a 17-1 record at home against the Saints. They also sport a 16-1 record in Lacey. Over the last 10 meetings between the two schools, CWU has won nine matches. A season ago, the Wildcats swept the Saints 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-16) in Ellensburg before doing the same 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-18) sweep in Lacey. On Sept. 28 of this season, the match belonged to the Wildcats as they took it 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-18).