ELLENSBURG, Wash. - The Central Washington University volleyball team opens their 2019 season at the Capitol Plaza Invitational in Topeka, Kan. on Friday and Saturday. The Wildcats take on two teams firmly located inside the American Volleyball Coaches Association Preseason Top 25 poll.
 
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Wildcats vs. Northwest Missouri State
Friday | 8:00 a.m. PT
Topeka, Kan. | Lee Arena
 
Wildcats vs. No. 18 Drury
Friday | 12:00 p.m. PT
Topeka, Kan. | Lee Arena
 
Wildcats vs. Emporia State
Saturday | 9:30 a.m. PT
Topeka, Kan. | Lee Arena
 
Wildcats vs. No. 4 Washburn
Saturday | 1:30 p.m. PT
Topeka, Kan. | Lee Arena

QUOTABLE
"Opening weekend is always exciting and the competition we're facing is going to force us to play at a pretty high level right away," CWU Head Coach Mario Andaya said. "We're not expecting us to be who we want to be in November right now, but we are expecting to compete very hard and see where it takes us."
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats took on the Gonzaga Bulldogs in its lone exhibition of the 2019 season on August, 24. The Wildcats hung tough, but were dismissed by the Bulldogs 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-14) on the road.

The Wildcat offense was led by Makala Swart and Diana Fa'amausili who had six kills apiece, respectively. Fa'amausili had a .133 hitting percentage, while Swart added three digs. Bridgette Webb and Laynie Erickson were also strong offensively, adding four kills of their own. Gabrielle Aihara was consistent as the setter, racking up 19 assists during the match.
 
As a team, the Wildcats hit just .022, making 25 errors to just 27 kills. The team did show a strong performance from behind the service line, converting four aces on the day. Ashley Kaufman was the team leader with two, while Lexi Schamadan and Isabelle Jacob had an ace each.
 
AVCA PRESEASON COACHES POLL
The Wildcats earned 144 points on their way to ranking 23rd in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll. Of the competition the Wildcats take on this weekend, Drury and host-school Washburn are inside the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll. The Panthers nabbed 369 points in the poll, good enough for 18th place. The Ichabods ranked fourth in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll.
 
GNAC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
The coaches of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference chose the Wildcats to tie for the top spot with rival Western Washington. Both teams received 114 points, as the Wildcats earned four first place votes.
 
GNAC PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Reigning GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Kyla Morgan was a unanimous selection for the GNAC preseason all-conference team. Morgan led the Wildcats with 596 digs a season ago. The total added up to 5.84 digs per set, a number that led the GNAC and ranked 19th nationally. Along with her GNAC accolades, Morgan earned D2CCA All-West Region Honors and was a member of the West Regional All-Tournament Team. Morgan named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-West Region Team and earned AVCA All-American Honorable Mention.
 
Another unanimous selection for the 2019 Preseason All-Conference Team was Makala Swart. Swart made her name known around the conference with a stellar performance in 2018. She became a First Team All-Conference selection. Swart smashed 369 kills on a .243 hitting percentage last season. She had 3.62 kills per set, the third best in conference. She also held her own defensively with 305 digs and 58 total blocks. Swart was also a member of the AVCA All-West Region Team and earned AVCA All-American Honorable Mention.
 
The Wildcats feature another 2018 First Team All-Conference selection in Gabrielle Aihara, who was named to the 2019 Preseason All-Conference Team. She ranked ninth in NCAA Division II with 11.82 assists per set. Aihara is also a threat from behind the service line. She had 27 aces in 2018. Like the teammates mentioned before her, Aihara made the AVCA All-West Region Team, while earning AVCA All-American Honorable Mention. 
 
Rounding out the list is another impact returner in Bridgette Webb. Webb earned All-Conference Honorable Mention a season ago. Webb led the team with a .341 hitting percentage. Webb racked up 84 total blocks and had 1.12 blocks per set, the fifth best in conference.
  
SCOUTING NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE ROSTER | SCHEDULE | 2018 STATS
The Bearcats put together an outstanding 2018 season, becoming the 15th team in program history to earn 20 wins. It was just the second team to eclipse 20 wins since 1999. The Bearcats entered the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association tournament as a No. 4 seed. The Bearcats fell to Central Missouri 3-1 in the quarterfinals of that tournament, putting an end to their 2018 season. Entering this season, the Bearcats received 26 points in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll and were picked to finish fifth in the MIAA Preseason Poll.
 
The Bearcats are moving on from a standout player in Maddy Bruder. Bruder was named the MIAA Player of the Year, capping a career that featured four-straight MIAA First Team appearance. in 64 sets. Bruder notched a team-best 17 double-doubles, including 12 in MIAA play. Bearcat Head Coach Amy Woerth was named the league's Coach of the Year.
 
SCOUTING No. 18 DRURY ROSTER | SCHEDULE | 2018 STATS
Like the Wildcats, the Panthers made it into the semifinals of their NCAA Regional Tournament a season ago. Unlike the Wildcats, the Panthers were playing in their first NCAA Tournament in program history. They closed the season with a 28-7 record. Their 28 wins were the most since the Panthers moved to NCAA Division II in 1994.
 
The Panthers return an All-Great Lakes Valley Conference pick in Taylor Forth. Forth was second in the GLVC for blocks with 160 and a 1.22 average. Forth was named to the All-GLVC Second Team. 
 
SCOUTING EMPORIA STATE ROSTER | SCHEDULE | 2018 STATS
The Hornets reached the MIAA Tournament in 2018, but fell to Washburn in the opening round. They return a couple of standouts from their 2018 season in Yuchen Du and Emma Dixon. Du earned Second Team All-MIAA honors last season. The Bejing, China native averaged 2.40 kills per set and added 204 digs and 60 blocks to her totals. Dixon earned All-MIAA Honorable Mention in 2018. Dixon averaged 6.88 assists per set and 2.23 digs per set. 
 
SCOUTING No. 4 WASHBURN ROSTER | SCHEDULE | 2018 STATS
The Ichabods put together a fabulous 2018 season, reaching the NCAA National Semifinals before falling to eventual runner up in Tampa. A stellar season yielded several awards for the Ichabods in 2018. It started with head coach Chris Herron and assistant coach Lauren Ramatowski. Herron earned AVCA Central Region Coach of the Year. Herron turned the team around quickly after going 18-14 in 2017. The team made the National Tournament with a 32-4 record. Ramatowski was named the AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year.
 
Allison Maxwell returns as the team's star player in 2019. Maxwell led the MIAA in blocks with 126, and finished eighth in conference with 3.55 kills per set. Maxwell racked up awards that included AVCA All-America Honorable Mention, AVCA All-Central Region First Team and Division II Conference Commissioner's Association All-Central Region Second Team. She cruised to an All-MIAA First Team award as well.
 
Other All-MIAA First Team returners include Genna Berg, Erica Montgomery and Faith Rottinghaus. Berg finished with single-season career-bests in kills (359), digs (356) and blocks (78). She earned NCAA Central Regional All-Tournament team selection and a NCAA Championship All-Tournament team selection. Montgomery is another NCAA Regional and National All-Tournament team member. She was the team leader with 385 kills. Rottinghaus had 670 digs on the season, 21^st most in the country.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats will be back in action next weekend as they head to the West Coast of Los Angeles to play in another tournament. CWU will be in the West Region Showcase which will feature another talented pool of teams. Tournament action is set for Sept. 12-14.