ELLENSBURG, Wash. – After picking up two five-set victories over Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponents, the Central Washington University volleyball team travels to Nampa, Idaho to take on Northwest Nazarene on Tuesday at 6 p.m. PT.  
 
GAME INFORMATION
Wildcats vs. Northwest Nazarene
Tuesday | 6 p.m. PT
Johnson Sports Center | Nampa, Idaho  

LAST TIME OUT
Halloween provided a thriller between the Wildcats and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The Wildcats outlasted the Nanooks 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 25-19, 19-25, 15-12) last Thursday night. 

The 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, Kyla 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. Makala Swart and Julia Mellander had consecutive kills before Jacob provided the dagger with an ace that sent the visitors packing. 
 
Lexi 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, Bridgette Webb and Kaufman had to battle to get their kills. Swart had eight kills, Webb grabbed seven kills while Kaufman managed six kills. 
 
Gabrielle 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. 
 
Last Saturday, the Wildcats faced a 2-1 match deficit against the University of Alaska Anchorage. The Wildcats stayed the course and were able to grind out a 3-2 (25-21, 18-25, 19-25, 25-22, 15-10) victory over the Seawolves on Saturday night
 
The Wildcats opened the final set on fire, raging to a 7-2 lead. Mellander was crucial, racking up three kills during the hot start. The Seawolves didn't go away. They used a 6-2 run to cut the Wildcat lead to 8-7. Mellander sparked a 7-3 run that gave the Wildcats the set win. During that run, the Wildcats scored five unanswered points. Appropriately, Webb had the final kill of the night that gave the Wildcats a 15-10 set win. Webb finished the match with an outstanding 18 kills on a .325 hitting percentage. 
 
Swart added another double-double to her season total on Saturday. She finished the match with 14 kills and 17 digs. Both were the second best on the team in each category. Mellander set a new season-best in kills, racking up 12 during the match. Aihara and Remsberg had strong nights distrubted the ball. Aihara led the team with 31 assists, while Remsberg had 22 assists. 
 
Defensively, Morgan led the way with 23 digs. Mellander had six assisted blocks. Swart also added four assisted blocks. The Seawolves made 23 attack errors and hit .194 for the match. 

GNAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For the fourth time this season, Kyla Morgan was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's Defensive Player of the Week. 
 
Morgan was instrumental in two five set victories for the Wildcats last weekend. The first came last Thursday when the team outlasted Alaska Fairbanks 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 25-19, 19-25, 15-12). Morgan finished the match with 28 digs. She added two service aces and three assists to a solid night. 
 
Last Saturday, the Wildcats faced a 2-1 match deficit against Alaska Anchorage. The team was able to grind out a 3-2 (25-21, 18-25, 19-25, 25-22, 15-10) victory over the Seawolves. Morgan had 23 digs and five assists. In total, Morgan had 51 digs over 10 sets played for an average of 5.1 digs per set. 

Earlier this season, Morgan became the only player to reach 2,000 career digs. Morgan's new career total sits at 2,175 career digs. She ranks fourth all-time in conference history. Morgan is just 141 digs away from passing Seattle Pacific's (2008-11) Anna Herold for third all time on the GNAC list. 

WILDCATS IN THE GNAC
The Wildcats enter the final three weeks of the regular season looking to make noise in the conference. The Wildcats remain fourth in conference by keeping opponents to a .164 hitting percentage. The Wildcats are rank fourth in blocks by averaging 2.16 per set. The team ranks third with 17.79 digs per set.

The defensive is fueled by performances in reception and at the net. Morgan has moved into second in the conference with 5.60 digs per set. She also ranks 24^th in the country in the same category. Mellander ranks fourth in conference with 1.19 blocks per set. Mellander's totals are 27^th best in the country. 
 
Experienced players highlight the offensive standouts for the Wildcats. Aihara's 8.74 assists per set is the seventh best in conference. Swart ranks sixth in conference with 3.24 kills per set. The team also ranks third in assists (12.12) and kills (12.95) per set. 
 
SCOUTING NORTHWEST NAZARENE 
The Nighthawks come into Tuesday's match in seventh in the GNAC standings. They boast a 10-11 record and have gone 6-8 in conference play. They dropped a pair of games last weekend. Alaska Anchorage got the better of the Nighthawks 3-1 before the University of Alaska Fairbanks dropped the them in straight sets. 
 
The Nighthawks are struggling to keep their opponents' offenses in check. Teams are averaging .223 hitting percentage against the Nighthawks. Opponents are averaging 13.3 kills per set to the Nighthawks' 11.9 kills per game. 
 
Brooke Foster has been a standout for the Nighthawks. The redshirt sophomore has 285 kills on the season and is averaging 3.43 kills per set. Foster is also strong from behind the service line. She ranks sixth in conference with .42 service aces per set. She ranks second in the conference with an average of 4.06 points per set. 
 
Abbey Blum is the only other Nighthawks with more than 200 kills on the season. Blum has smashed home 222 kills for an average of 2.67 kills per set. The Nighthawk offense runs through Megan Nelson. Nelson is averaging 9.46 assists per set. The mark is the fourth best in the GNAC. 
 
Defensively, Kayla Sale is putting together a strong season. Sale has 330 digs over 80 sets played for an average of 4.13 digs per set. The mark makes her the seventh best in conference. Lexi Ward leads the Nighthawks at the net. She's racked up 60 total blocks on the season for an average of .72 blocks per set. 
 
The Wildcats and Nighthawks met on Oct. 8 inside Nicholson Pavilion. The Wildcats deleted a 2-0 set lead for the Nighthawks before falling 3-2 (22-25, 24-26, 25-9, 29-27, 11-15) on that night. 
 
Statistically, the Wildcats (8-7, 3-4) owned the Nighthawks (7-7, 3-4) throughout the contest. Offensively, the Wildcats drilled 69 kills to the Nighthawks' 52. Aihara and 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. 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. Webb played well, totaling 12 kills and six total blocks. Kaufman and Fa'amausili finished with 11 kills. Kaufman added 17 digs for a double-double.
 
Defensively, Mellander led the Wildcats with seven total blocks. Morgan led the team with 27 digs. Remsberg had 13 digs along with 27 assists for a double-double. 

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats are 25-19 all-time against the Nighthawks. There's little separation between the two programs in recent history, as they've split their last 10 matchups. Since 2002, The Nighthawks home court has been tough on the Wildcats. The Wildcats are 8-9 in Nampa.