Volleyball | 9/18/2012 5:23:00 PM
VOLLEYBALL - ALASKA ANCHORAGE AT WESTERN OREGON
Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012 – 7:00 p.m. – Monmouth, Ore.
LIVE VIDEO: GNAC TV (Stretch Internet)
LIVE STATS: http://athletics.wou.edu/live/xlive.htm
VOLLEYBALL - ALASKA FAIRBANKS AT WESTERN OREGON
Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012 – 7:00 p.m. – Monmouth, Ore.
LIVE VIDEO: GNAC TV (Stretch Internet)
LIVE STATS: http://athletics.wou.edu/live/xlive.htm
MONMOUTH, Ore. - The Western Oregon volleyball team returns to action this week as the Wolves open Great Northwest Athletic Conference play when they host Alaska Anchorage on Thursday, Sept. 20, at 7:00 p.m. and conclude the week with a match against Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday, Sept. 22, at 7:00 p.m.
WOU enters the weekend with a mark of 7-2 on the season after sweeping a pair of non-conference matches last week. The Wolves defeated Williamette in straight sets before doing the same to Walla Walla to close out the week.
Defense has helped key the Wolves fast start as Western Oregon leads the league and ranks No. 17 in the country at 2.45 blocks per set.
Krissi Kemper and
Becky Blees are leading the Wolves in the category, averaging 1.19 and 1.16 blocks per set, respectively.
On the attack side, Western Oregon is led by
Danielle Reese, who leads the team and ranks third in the league with 3.86 points per set. Through nine matches, the senior leads the team with 99 kills and 15 service aces.
Samantha Ward (84), Kemper (61) and Blees (50) have also proven to be effective attackers as four WOU players currently have 50 or more kills on the season.
Alaska Anchorage enters the week with a mark of 7-3 overall and 2-0 in league play after the Seawolves squeaked out a pair of five-set wins over Central Washington and Northwest Nazare at home last week. Katelynn Zanders leads the attack for the Seawolves as she leads the team and ranks fourth in the league with 3.85 points per set.
Meanwhile, Alaska Fairbanks enters the week with a mark of 2-6 overall, 0-2 in league play as the Nanooks fell to the Crusaders and Wildcats in straight sets last week. Sam Harthum leads the Nanooks with 2.70 kills per game while Allison Oddy leads the defensive effort with 110 digs.
Western Oregon leads each series against the Seawolves and Nanooks, 13-10, as the Wolves went 4-0 against the squads a year ago.
Tickets to the contests are $6 for adults, $4 for non-WOU students and seniors while WOU students are admitted for free with a valid WOU ID.
Following the conference openers, WOU will travel to Burnaby, B.C., to face Simon Fraser on Thursday, Sept. 27, at 7:00 p.m.
