ELLENSBURG, Wash. – A special noon start time awaits the Central Washington University volleyball team as it continues its home opening weekend against Saint Martin's on Saturday. 
 
GAME INFORMATION
Saint Martin's at Wildcats
Saturday | 12 p.m.
Nicholson Pavilion | Ellensburg, Wash. 
 
QUOTABLE 
"SMU has some new talent this year, so it will be important to go in prepared with our best stuff and learn as the match progresses," CWU Head Coach Mario Andaya said. "We see some athletic players on film so we know we need to be in position to make plays. Overall, we need to be at our best in all facets to make it a good match." 
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats grounded the Falcons 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-12) in the team's home opener on Thursday night. As a team, the Wildcats outplayed the Falcons in a handful of categories. Most notably, the Wildcats had 48 kills to the Falcon's 28. The team also defended well, scooping up 61 digs while holding the Falcons to .117 hitting percentage. The Wildcat offense was rolling as they racked up 46 assists and hit at a .231 clip.
 
Makala Swart and Diana Fa'amausili tied for a game-high 11 kills. Swart was the only Wildcat to record a double-double. She added 10 digs to her night's production. Fa'amausili was ultra-efficient, hitting at a .563 clip. Another efficient outing came from Bridgette Webb who had nine kills on a game-high .571 hitting percentage. Julia Mellander and Ashley Kaufman chipped in eight kills of their own. Gabrielle Aihara had an excellent night, picking up 44 assists in the home opener. 
 
Defensively, the Wildcats had a strong night. Fa'amausili and Mellander led the team with three assisted blocks. Sydney Remsberg and Kaufman tied for a team high 12 digs. Kyla Morgan added eight digs to the team's defensive efforts. 

WILDCATS IN THE GNAC
CWU is third in the conference in opponent hitting percentage, holding competition to a .172 hitting percentage. The team ranks third in conference with 11.93 assists per set and third in kills with 12.86 per set. The Wildcats have blocked the fourth most attacks in conference with 2.23 blocks per set. The team ranks second with 17.70 digs per set. 
 
Individual performances have also sent a handful of Wildcats to the top of the charts Aihara's 10.91 assists per set is the third best in conference. Swart ranks sixth in conference with 3.36 kills per set. Morgan is the conference leader with 5.53 digs per set. Mellander ranks third in conference with 1.26 blocks per set. Fa'amausili ranks fifth in blocks with 1.05 per set. 
 
SCOUTING SAINT MARTIN'S
In the 2019 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, the Saints were selected to finish at the bottom of the conference. The team finished the year 4-22 overall with a 2-18 GNAC record. The team returns some talent that starts with Ula Kamaka. She earned All-GNAC Honorable mention last year after averaging 2.57 kills per set and 2.22 digs per set. Alyssa Bartlett also returns as the team's setter after averaging 7.71 assists per set and 2.14 digs per set a season ago. The Saints didn't land a player on the GNAC Preseason All-Conference team. 
 
The Saints have experienced a rough start to the 2019 season. They've yet to pick up a win on the season. The team has played two five-set matches. The first came against Western New Mexico at the Cougar Classic hosted by Azusa Pacific. The Mustangs downed the Saints 3-2 (25-19, 20-25, 21-25, 25-17, 15-12) on Sept. 5. The next weekend, the Saints battled the Academy of Art at the NCAA DII West Region Showcase. The Urban Knights were down two sets to one before overcoming the Saints 3-2 (22-25, 19-25, 25-12, 25-22, 15-9). The Saints enter Nicholson Pavilion after falling 3-1 (25-10, 22-25, 25-18, 25-19) to Northwest Nazarene on Thursday night. 
 
Kylie Coon leads the Saints with 79 kills for an average of 2.47 kills per set thus far in 2019. Bartlett has continued her success from 2018, leading the team with 196 assists. She's also a threat from behind the service line, as her 12 service aces lead the Saints and ranks 14^th in the GNAC. The Wildcat offense will have to navigate their way around Bridgette Bourgouin. Bourgouin has 34 blocks, good enough to lead the Saints and land her 10^th in the GNAC. 

SERIES HISTORY
Since the year 2002, the Wildcats own a 32-2 record against the Saints. The Wildcats have a 16-1 record both on the road and at home against the Saints. Over the last 10 meetings between the two schools, CWU has won nine matches. A season ago, the Wildcats swept the Saints 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-16) in Ellensburg before doing the same 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-18) sweep in Lacey.