ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University volleyball team hits the road for the final time in the regular season. The trip opens with a match against Concordia (Ore.) at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
GAME INFORMATION
Wildcats vs. Concordia (Ore.)
Thursday | 6 p.m. PT
LCEF Court | Portland, Ore.
QUOTEABLE
"We are preparing for a very big challenge and expecting another GNAC battle," CWU Head Coach
Mario Andaya said. "We need to be good in all phases against Concordia."
NCAA WEST REGIONAL RANKINGS
The NCAA released their regional rankings last Wednesday. The Wildcats rank sixth in the west region. Defense has been a strength for the Wildcats throughout the 2019 season. The team ranks 51
st in the country with an average of 2.12 blocks per set. They rank 46
th in digs with 17.70 per set.
LAST TIME OUT
CWU was in Nampa, Idaho for a match against Northwest Nazarene on Tuesday. The Wildcats disposed of the Nighthawks 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-13) in the road contest.
The Wildcats racked up an outstanding .277 hitting percentage in a three-set sweep. The team committed half as many attack errors as they did in the first match. The Wildcats converted 45 kills as they powered past the Nighthawks.
Makala Swart was excellent for the Wildcats. She racked up 12 kills on a strong .320 hitting percentage.
Bridgette Webb couldn't miss. She had nine kills on a stellar .727 hitting percentage.
Julia Mellander had a strong night on both sides of the net. She had seven kills and four total blocks on Tuesday. Sharma contributed off the bench for the Wildcats.
Sierra Sharma added six kills on a .308 hitting percentage.
Gabrielle Aihara and
Sydney Remsberg shared the load in running the offense. Aihara led the group with 18 assists while Remsberg added 16 assists of her own.
Kyla Morgan led the squad with 16 digs during the match.
The Wildcats traveled to Billings, Mont. for a match against Montana State University Billings last Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats picked up their fourth consecutive win in four sets (25-17, 23-25, 25-14, 25,13).
The Wildcats put together an outstanding performance against the Yellowjackets on Saturday. The Wildcats crushed 57 kills while hitting at a .243 clip. The Wildcats gained a massive advantage from the service line, racking up seven aces to the Yellowjacket's two. Defensively, the Wildcats held the home team to a .159 hitting percentage. The Yellowjackets were only able to convert 42 kills over four sets
Webb was stupendous for the Wildcats on Saturday. The redshirt senior had 16 kills on a .364 hitting percentage. Webb added three assisted blocks to her totals. Kaufman was another standout for the Wildcat offense. She had 13 kills on a .270 hitting percentage. Kaufman also led the group with three aces. Kaufman was a dig away from nabbing the double-double. Swart was final Wildcat to reach double-figure kills as she finished the night with 12. Swart would add 16 digs to complete the double-double.
Aihara and Remsberg were tasked with running the offense. Aihara was outstanding, racking up 32 assists while adding two aces. Remsberg was solid as well, notching 20 assists for the match. Morgan led the group with 28 digs.
WILDCATS IN THE GNAC
The Wildcats have established what they do well as the weeks dwindle on the regular season. The Wildcats remain fourth in conference by keeping opponents to a .163 hitting percentage. The Wildcats are rank fourth in blocks by averaging 2.12 per set. The team also ranks fourth with 17.70 digs per set.
The defensive is fueled by performances in reception and at the net. Morgan continues to lead the conference with 5.66 digs per set. She also ranks 20
th in the country in the same category. Mellander ranks fourth in conference with 1.15 blocks per set. Mellander's totals are 41
st in the country.
Experienced players highlight the offensive standouts for the Wildcats. Aihara's 8.62 assists per set is the seventh best in conference. Swart ranks seventh in conference with 3.26 kills per set. The team also ranks third in assists (12.24) and kills (13.08) per set.
SCOUTING CONCORDIA (ORE.)
The Cavaliers tout an 8-15 overall record and have gone 6-10 in conference play. The sit eighth in standings going into the weekend. It's been a troublesome stretch for the Cavaliers dating back to Oct. 10. The team was swept by Alaska Anchorage, and would go on to lose eight of their next 10 matches.
As a team, the Cavaliers are allowing teams to convert 13.1 kills per set while racking up a .197 hitting percentage. The Cavaliers hold their own in reception and from behind the service line. They average 18 digs per set and convert 1.6 aces per set.
The Cavaliers turn to Jessica Wheeler for their offensive production. Wheeler has 236 kills on the season and is averaging 3.06 kills per set. Zoe DiNardo is also a key factor for the Cavaliers. The newcomer is averaging 2.20 kills per set. The offense runs through Kahua Tilton. Tilton contributes 5.88 assists per set.
Callie Wilkins leads the Cavaliers defense. She's accumulated 487 digs over 88 sets played for an average of 5.53 digs per set. At the net, Elyssa Rose has 85 total blocks on the season, 10 of which have come on the solo effort. Rose averages 1.02 blocks per set.
SERIES HISTORY
Since 2015, the Wildcats are 9-0 against the Cavaliers. Four of the matches between the two teams have gone to five sets. In their last three matches, the Wildcats have only dropped one set to the Cavaliers.
The first time the Wildcats and Cavaliers met this season was on Oct. 19. The Wildcats defeated the Cavaliers 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-14) inside Nicholson Pavilion. 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. The Wildcats were also able to smash home 44 kills on a .238 hitting percentage for the match.
Kaufman was electric for the Wildcats against the Cavaliers. 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.
Webb, Swart and 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. Remsberg had 12 assists and added two service aces and a kill. Morgan led the game with 22 digs.
