ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University volleyball team hopes to avenge an early season sweep from the University of Alaska Anchorage. The Wildcats host the Seawolves on Saturday at 7 p.m. 
 
GAME INFORMATION
Alaska Anchorage vs. Wildcats
Saturday | 7 p.m. PT
Nicholson Pavilion | Ellensburg, Wash.  
 
GNAC ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Eight Wildcats landed on the GNAC All-Academic team. The total ties them with Saint Martin's and was only outdone by Northwest Nazarene. The Nighthawks had 11 student-athletes on the squad. The Wildcats who earned the honors include four multiple time all-academic team members are four newcomers. 
 
Gabrielle Aihara and Bridgette Webb are making their third straight appearance on the team. Aihara is a business administration major with a 3.71 grade points average. Webb is also a three-time all-academic team member. The Yakima native sports a 3.67 GPA and is an accounting major.
 
Kyla Morgan and Makala Swart are making their second appearance on the list. Morgan is studying to become a physical education major and has a 3.65 GPA. Swart studies psychology and has a strong 3.77 GPA.
 
New to the team are Madison Lee, Lexi Schamadan, Leanna Shymanski and Kylee Yamashita. Lee is rocking a team-high 4.0 GPA, Schamdan has a 3.41 GPA and Yamashita has a 3.30 GPA. All three are sophomore and have yet to declare a major at Central Washington. Shymanski is a junior who is a double-major. She's studying elementary education and Spanish. The Kennewick native has a 3.35 GPA. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Central Washington University volleyball team hosted the University of Alaska Fairbanks in a scary clash on Halloween. The thrilling five set match belonged to the Wildcats as a late push helped them beat the Nanooks 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 25-19, 19-25, 15-12) on Thursday night. 
 
Thursday's contest between the Wildcats and Nanooks was expected to be a tight one. The two teams went five sets earlier this season, as the home team came out on top. The Wildcats gained their biggest advantage from behind the service line, as the team had eight aces to four from the Nanooks. Ashley Kaufman, Morgan and Isabelle Jacob had two aces apiece, as all came at crucial times in the match.
 
The match came down to a deciding fifth set. The Wildcats scored three consecutive points to take an 8-6 lead. The Nanooks roared back, going on a 5-1 run to take an 11-9 lead. Three consecutive errors from the Nanooks gave the Wildcats a 12-11 lead. A kill from AveRee Reynolds tied the set at 12. Swart and Julia Mellander had consecutive kills before Jacob provided the dagger with an ace that sent the visitors packing. 
 
Schamadan played a huge roll in the Wildcat success. The Arizona native led the team with 12 kills on an incredible .391 hitting percentage. Analia Vasquez also put in a crucial effort, joining Schamadan with double-digit kills. Vasquez finished the match with 10 kills on a .261 hitting percentage. Swart, Webb and Kaufman had to battle to get their kills. Swart had eight kills, Webb grabbed seven kills while Kaufman managed six kills. 
 
Aihara and Sydney Remsberg had strong nights distributing the ball. Aihara led the duo with 24 assists while Remsberg dished out 22 assists. 
 
Defensively, the Wildcats held the Nanooks to a .171 hitting percentage. The Wildcats had 15 total blocks. Webb was fantastic at the net, racking up five total blocks, two of which were solo blocks. Mellander was close behind with four total blocks, with one being a solo block. Morgan led the squad with 28 digs. Kaufman and Swart added 13 digs to cap off the festive evening. 

WILDCATS IN THE GNAC
The Wildcats find themselves in the top half of the conference in a handful statistics. The Wildcats remain fourth in conference by keeping opponents to a .196 hitting percentage. The Wildcats are rank fourth in blocks by averaging 2.17 per set. The team ranks third with 17.83 digs per set.

The defensive is fueled by performances in reception and at the net. Morgan leads the conference with 5.67 digs per set. She also ranks 18^th in the country in the same category. Mellander ranks fourth in conference with 1.17 blocks per set. Mellander's totals are 25^th best in the country. Fa'amausili ranks 10^th in blocks with .94 per set. 
 
Experienced players highlight the offensive standouts for the Wildcats. Aihara's 8.90 assists per set is the seventh best in conference. Swart ranks sixth in conference with 3.27 kills per set. The team also ranks third in assists (12.25) and kills (13.01) per set. 
 
SCOUTING ALASKA ANCHORAGE 
The Seawolves have emerged as one of the best team in the GNAC. They sport a 16-5 record and have gone 11-2 in conference play. The team's only conference losses have come at the hands of Alaska Fairbanks and Sion Fraser. The Seawolves fell to their in-state rivals on Sept. 24 by a final score of 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-22). Their next loss came on Oct. 17 when the Clan got the better of them 3-2 (23-25, 14-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-11). The Seawolves are the only team to beat Western Washington this season. The Seawolves dropped the Vikings 3-1 (25-19, 19-25, 25-20, 26-24) on Oct. 19. 
 
The Seawolves rank second in conference in hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage. They are converting at .229 clip while holding teams to a .159 hitting percentage. The group also ranks second in conference with 2.43 blocks per set. 
 
The Seawolves are elite from behind the service line, leading the conference with 2.27 aces per set. Seattle Pacific is the next-closest team with 1.81 aces per set. Three of the top four conference leaders play for the Seawolves. Vanessa Hayes leads the conference with .55 aces per set. Maggie Schueter and Ellen Floyd rank third and fourth respectively.  
 
Eve Stephens is having a stellar season for the Seawolves. She leads the conference with 3.84 kills per set. Kayla McGlathery has been outstanding for the Seawolves this season. She's hitting at a .322 clip, fourth best in conference. Floyd ranks second in conference by averaging 10.24 assists per set. Defensively, Vera Pluharova causes problems for opponents. She ranks second in conference with 1.26 blocks per set. 
 
In their first meeting on Oct. 3, the Seawolves dispersed of the Wildcats 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-18) in Anchorage. The Seawolves held the Wildcats to a .163 hitting percentage while hitting .302 on their home court. The Wildcats were forced into 19 attack errors while the Seawolves had eight total blocks. 
 
Swart led the Wildcats with 11 kills. Kaufman finished with a double-double for the Wildcats. Kaufman had 10 kills while adding 11 digs. Webb was efficient in her offensive attacks. Webb added seven kills on a team-high .278 hitting percentage. Webb was also tough to deal with at the net, coming up with two assisted blocks on the night. 

Aihara distributed the ball well. The senior setting had 32 assists while adding 13 digs to the Wildcats defensive effort. Morgan led all players with 21 digs. 

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats are 16-24 all-time against the Seawolves. The Seawolves are rolling, winning seven of the last 10 matches against the Wildcats. The Wildcats do hold a slight edge when the match takes place inside Nicholson Pavilion. They sport a 9-8 record at home.