ELLENSBURG, Wash. - The Central Washington University volleyball team is set to compete in another early season tournament this weekend. The Wildcats travel to Los Angeles to compete in the West Region Showcase. 
 
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Wildcats vs. Cal State East Bay
Thursday | 10:00 a.m. PT
Los Angeles, Calif. | Cal State LA Gymnasium
 
Wildcats vs. Cal State Los Angeles
Thursday | 8:00 p.m. PT
Los Angeles, Calif. | Cal State LA Gymnasium
 
Wildcats vs. Azusa Pacific
Friday | 2:30 p.m. PT
Los Angeles, Calif. | Cal State LA Gymnasium
 
Wildcats vs. Hawaii Pacific
Saturday | 12:00 p.m. PT
Los Angeles, Calif. | Cal State LA Gymnasium

QUOTABLE
"Our goal is to play better in key areas we know will help us be successful," CWU Head Coach Mario Andaya said. "We need to put our best foot forward this weekend in LA, as the matches are very meaningful in the whole regional picture. It will be a playoff atmosphere, but with teams still trying to figure some things out. Our team learned a lot this past weekend, so we hope to strengthen in key areas and raise the bar in some things we did very well."
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats opened their season at the Capitol Plaza Invitational in Topeka, Kansas last weekend. The Wildcats fell 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, 25-17) in their opening contest against Northwest Missouri State. Diana Fa'amausili led the team with nine kills on an impressive .467 hitting percentage. Newcomers Laynie Erickson and Ashley Kaufman contributed in their collegiate debuts. Erickson had eight kills, while Kaufman smashed home six kills. Gabrielle Aihara was consistent, adding 26 assists to the Wildcats' offensive efforts. Defensively, Kyla Morgan had 12 digs while Julia Mellander assisted on four blocks. 
 
The Wildcats outlasted No. 18 Drury 3-2 (25-22, 25-17, 18-25, 23-25, 18-16) last Friday afternoon. Four Wildcats ended the match with double figure kills. Lexi Schamadan and Kaufman led the Wildcats with 13 kills each. Schamadan added a strong effort defensively scooping up 17 digs. Fa'amausili and Bridgette Webb added double figure kills with 11 each. Webb was efficient, reaching the mark on a .273 hitting percentage.Aihara had a strong game, racking up 53 assists. Morgan led the defensive efforts with 19 digs. Fa'amausili had 13 blocks, 12 of which were assisted. Mellander had 11 blocks, with 10 of them coming on an assisted effort. 
 
The Wildcats opened day two of the tournament with a 3-1 (25-13, 23-25, 25-18, 26-24) over Emporia State. Four Wildcats finished the match with double figure kills. Kaufman led the group with 14 kills. She also had 18 digs. A late surge from Webb lifted her to 12 total kills on a .333 hitting percentage. Schamadan's hot start earned her 10 kills. Fa'amausili had 10 kills on an incredible .409 hitting percentage. Fa'amausili made just one attack error during the match. Aihara was excellent, assisting on 38 kills in the match. Morgan led the defense with 25 digs. Webb had four blocks, three of which were assisted. Schamadan also had three assisted blocks. As a team, the Wildcats held the Hornets to a .138 hitting percentage. 
 
The Wildcats faced their toughest test of the weekend in No. 4 Washburn to round out their tournament schedule. The Wildcats took the second set from the Ichabods, but the host team took the match 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-18, 25-21. Kaufman led the team with 13 kills while adding 12 digs. Schamadan was close behind with 12 kills. Fa'amausili had 11 kills and six blocks, four of which were assisted. Aihara had 35 assists. Morgan had 24 digs while Sydney Remsberg had 14 digs. 

CAPITOL PLAZA INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Fa'amausili and Aihara were named to the Capitol Plaza Invitational All-Tournament team. Both student-athletes were key factors for the Wildcats throughout the weekend. 

Aihara was a consistent presence in the Wildcat offense. The 2018 American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American Honorable Mention had 148 assists in 16 sets over the weekend. Defensively, Aihara scooped up 31 digs and had a hand in two assisted blocks on the weekend.

Fa'amausili had an outstanding weekend for the Wildcats. The redshirt junior smashed home 39 kills in 16 sets played. She was efficient in her attacks, converting a .295 hitting percentage. Fa'amausili was a menace at the net, stuffing 23 attacks from opponents. Her best game came in a 3-2 win over No. 18 Drury, in which she had 13 total blocks, 12 of which were assisted. 

AVCA COACHES POLL
The Wildcats find themselves ranked No. 25 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association Top-25 Poll. The Wildcats fell two spots from the No. 23 spot in the preseason rankings.

SCOUTING CAL STATE EAST BAY ROSTER | SCHEDULE | 2018 STATS
For the first time in program history, the Pioneers reached the NCAA DII Tournament in 2018. The Pioneers went 11-7 in conference play to capture the program's first North Division crown. They had a program-record five players earn All-California Collegiate Athletic Association honors, all of which were seniors. 

The Pioneers opened their 2019 season in the PLNU Seaside Challenge. The team dropped all four of their games. Kara Green and Jamsyne Love lead the Pioneers in kills after their opening weekend. Green slammed home 27 kills in five sets played. Love has converted on 23 attacks in seven sets played. 
 
SCOUTING CAL STATE LOS ANGELES ROSTER | SCHEDULE | 2018 STATS
The Golden Eagles 2018 season came to an end at the hands of the Wildcats in the NCAA West Regional Tournament. The Wildcats outlasted the Golden Eagles in five sets. The Golden Eagles entered the NCAA West Regional Tournament as a No. 3 seed after going 22-6 overall with a 13-4 conference record.
 
The team returns a handful of players who received multiple honors from a season ago. Karla Santos earned First Team All-CCAA Honors, was a member of the AVCA All-West Region Team and was named an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention. Santos Led the team and was third in the CCAA with 383 kills and 3.83 kills per set. She Was also second on the team with 31 service aces and 312 digs.
 
Mickayla Sherman returns after being voted as the conference's Newcomer of the Year. Sherman was third on the team in kills with 258, third in points with 295.5, third in digs with 205 and third in service aces with 23. Sherman and Jeshmarie Suarez  both earned All-CCAA second team honors. Saurez led the team and was second in the conference with 482 digs. Daisy Crenshaw also received All-CCAA honorable mention a year ago. Crenshaw led the team with 84 blocks and was second on the team with 264 kills. 
 
SCOUTING AZUSA PACIFIC ROSTER | SCHEDULE | 2018 STATS
In 2018, the Cougars season came to a close in the first round of the NCAA West Region Tournament after taking Cal Poly Pomona five sets. Prior to the tournament, the Cougars picked up their first PacWest Conference Championship after putting together a 20-2 conference record.
 
The Cougars return one of the most efficient hitters in the country in Julianne Miller. Miller enters her senior season as a three-time AVCA All-West Region team member. Miller was named First Team All-Pac west after racking up 297 kills on a .410 hitting percentage. Miller is the PacWest's all-time leader in hitting percentage at .395 with a minimum of 1,500 attempts. The team also returns Sara Wagenveld and Aliyah Morrison. Both were named All-PacWest Third Team a season ago. Wegenveld had 241 kills for the season while Morrison had 232 kills. 

SCOUTING HAWAII PACIFIC ROSTER | SCHEDULE | 2018 STATS
The Sharks worked their way to a 13-15 overall record, going 12-10 in PacWest play. The performance landed them in sixth place in the final season standings. Cameryn Collie returns as the only member of the All-PacWest team. Collie led the Sharks with 325 kills on the season. Her 3.07 kills per set ranked sixth in the PacWest. She was second on the team with 260 digs, while adding 27 blocks. She also led the team with 11 double-doubles for the season and tied for the team lead with 29 service aces.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats hit the road once again, this time to open Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. The Wildcats take on Simon Fraser in Burnaby, B.C. at 7 p.m. PT on Sept. 19. Then on Sept. 21, the Wildcats are in Bellingham, Wash. to take on Rival Western Washington at 7 p.m. PT.