ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University volleyball team plays host to No. 6 Western Washington as they enter the final weekend of the regular season. The Wildcats and Vikings do battle inside Nicholson Pavilion at 7 p.m. PT on Thursday. 
 
GAME INFORMATION
Western Washington vs. Wildcats
Thursday, Nov. 21 | 7 p.m. PT
Nicholson Pavilion | Ellensburg, Wash. 
 
NCAA WEST REGIONAL RANKINGS
Last Wednesday, the NCAA announced their second version of the West Regional Rankings. The Wildcats dropped one position and now rank seventh in the west region. Defense has been a strength for the Wildcats throughout the 2019 season. The Wildcats rank 37^th in digs with 17.92 per set. The team ranks 54^th in the country with an average of 2.12 blocks per set. 
 
WILDCATS REACHING MILESTONES
Kyla Morgan is closing in on third all-time on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference career digs list. Morgan enters Thursday's contest with 2,290 career digs. Seattle Pacific's Anna Herold (2008-11) currently sits in third with 2,316 career digs. Morgan is just 27 digs away from moving into third all-time in conference history. 

LAST TIME OUT
Central Washington University women's volleyball rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to secure a 3-2 win (19-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-10, 15-9) over the Western Oregon Wolves. 
 
Down 2-0 overall, the Wildcats then mounted the comeback to force a fifth and decisive set. Set No. 3 was a battle as the Wolves barely outhit the Wildcats .163-.160, but both squads had 13 kills. The Wildcats grabbed the lead 1-0 out the gate but it was a back-and-forth affair with the game being tied or CWU leading by just 1-2 points much of the set.
 
Tied at 13-all, CWU managed to go on a quick 4-0 run to get up 17-13. Kills from Makala Swart and Julia Mellander helped CWU gain some breathing room, while Mellander also added a solo block. The surge forced WOU to call a timeout.
 
The timeout was not much help for the Wolves who only managed seven more points in the later half of the set, while CWU added 10 of its own to take the set, 25-20, and avoid the sweep.
 
Set No. 4 was a different story as the Wildcats handled the Wolves by 15 to force a fifth set. The Wildcats hit .233 and added 13 kills again, while the Wolves were held to a mark of -.067 for hitting and mustered just three kills.
 
CWU jumped out 9-1 on WOU to establish an earl dominance that lasted the entirety of the set. WOU added points in small spurts but did not break double figures until CWU scored 22 points. It was 22-10, but WOU never scored again as the Wildcats controlled the set for a 25-10 win.
 
The final set belonged to CWU as the team hit .250 for the set and did not allow the Wolves slate of .000 hitting percentage. A 9-4 edge on kills helped CWU, while the Wolves had four attack errors to CWU's two.
 
The set was close in the early stages with the teams tied at 3-3. Once again, CWU used a 4-0 run to get up 7-3 before WOU was able to respond. The Wildcats held an 8-4 lead when the two squads changed sides on the court.
 
Out of the intermission, CWU jumped up 10-5 on the Wolves. They never looked back after creating separation and held on for a 15-9 set win to complete the comeback.
 
The Wildcats won the hitting battle .132 hitting percentage, while Wolves finished at .114. WOU committed less errors, 25-32, but CWU won the blocking category with an 11-4 advantage.
 
Swart led the team posting a double-double with 18 kills and 12 digs. She hit .313 on the night and had a pair of service aces. Ashley Kaufman also had a double-double tallying 11 kills and picked up 14 digs.

Gabrielle Aihara paced the offensive distribution of the ball dishing out 30 assists. She also had 12 digs on the night to finish with a double-double. Sydney Remsberg added 18 assists in the win as well.
 
Defensively, Kyla Morgan led the way as she posted a game-high 38 digs in the win and chipped in three assists. Mellander led the way up front with eight block assists, while Diana Fa'amausili added seven to help CWU defensively.

WILDCATS IN THE GNAC
As the regular season enters its final weekend, the Wildcats are known for preforming well in certain aspects of the game. The Wildcats remain fourth in conference by keeping opponents to a .160 hitting percentage. The Wildcats are rank fourth in blocks by averaging 2.11 per set. The team ranks third with 17.92 digs per set.

The defensive is fueled by performances in reception and at the net. Morgan continues to lead the conference with 5.80 digs per set. Concordia's Callie Wilkins averages 5.44 digs per set sits in second place. Morgan ranks 20th in the country in the same category. Mellander ranks fourth in conference with 1.17 blocks per set. Mellander's totals are 40th in the country. 
 
Experienced players highlight the offensive standouts for the Wildcats. Aihara's 8.40 assists per set are the eighth best in conference. Swart ranks seventh in conference with 3.28 kills per set. The team also ranks third in assists (12.17) and kills (13.00) per set. 
 
SCOUTING WESTERN WASHINGTON
The Vikings tout an outstanding 24-2 overall record and have gone 16-2 in GNAC play. The only team to knock off the Vikings this season has been the University of Alaska Anchorage. The Seawolves downed the Vikings in Anchorage on Oct. 19 3-1 (25-19, 19-25, 25-20, 26-14). Then on Oct. 14, the Seawolves picked up a road victory over the Vikings 3-2 (23-25, 22-25, 25-23, 27-25, 16-14). The Seawolves took the final three sets from the Vikings to secure the match win. The road win snapped a 39-match winning streak for the Vikings on their home court. 
 
The Vikings can be found at the top of several statistical categories in the GNAC. Defensively, the team is holding opponents to a .131 hitting percentage. The Vikings average 2.92 blocks per set. Both are best are in conference. The Vikings lead the country in blocks per set. Offensively, the team averages 13.89 kills per set while hitting .275 per set. They average 13.15 assists per set. All are best in conference. 
 
Kayleigh Harper was favored to become the Conference Player of the Year in the Preseason All-Conference Team poll. She's been electric for the Vikings, racking up 265 kills on a .377 hitting percentage. She averages 1.42 blocks per set, a mark that is the third-best in the country. Of her 121 total blocks this season, 20 have been solo blocks. Harper leads the league in hitting percentage and blocks per set. 
 
Joining Harper amongst the nation's best at blocking is Chloe Roetcisoender. She averages 1.38 blocks per set and is one spot behind Harper in the national rankings. 
 
Gabby Gunterman was also selected to be on the All-Conference Team before the season began. Gunterman hasn't disappointed as she ranks third on the team with 3.08 kills per set. She leads the Vikings with 4.03 digs per set and has 347 total digs on the season. 
 
Calley Heilborn has emerged as an important piece to the Viking offense. Heilborn leads the team with 308 kills on the year. She's averaged 3.35 kills per set, sixth best in the GNAC. Heilborn has 25 aces on the season and is averaging 3.98 points pet set for her team. 

SERIES HISTORY
Since 2002, the Wildcats are 9-26 when taking on the Vikings. In their second meeting in 2015, the Wildcats took down the Vikings 3-1 (25-24, 14-25, 25-19, 25-21) on their home court. Over the last 10 matches, the Wildcats are 2-8 against the Vikings. The Wildcats are 3-15 on the Vikings home court. 
 
The Wildcats and Vikings met earlier this season on Sept. 21. The Wildcats were swept 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-18). Swart finished the match tied for a game-high 14 kills. Swart finished the night with a double-double by digging up 10 Viking attacks. Mellander had a strong offensive performance late. She added six kills on a .385 hitting percentage. Webb and Kaufman added six kills each. Aihara had 28 assists on the evening. The Wildcat defense faced a tough task trying to keep the conference's best offense in check. Morgan led the squad with 12 digs.