Volleyball | 11/19/2013 12:42:00 AM

MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon University volleyball team concludes the 2013 schedule this week with matches at Northwest Nazarene University Thursday and Central Washington University Saturday.

The Wolves (10-16, 7-9 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) have a chance to finish the year at .500 in conference play, and place fifth in the GNAC standings. A pair of victories, along with a Central Washington loss to St. Martin's Thursday, would clinch sole possession of fifth in the conference standings at the end of the season.

Becky Blees, the conference's all-time record holder for assisted blocks, is still fifth in the GNAC history in total blocks. Megan Triggs entered the conference's all-time top 10 for digs in a career last week. The senior has amassed 1,565 digs over her four seasons at WOU.

Northwest Nazarene (16-6, 12-4 GNAC) will be a formidable opponent for the Wolves Thursday. The Crusaders are in the midst of one of the program's best seasons, and are vying for a spot in the regional tournament. NNU is currently 10th in the NCAA Div. II West Region rankings, but sure to move up after a victory over Central Washington last Saturday.

The Crusaders beat CWU at home, where they are 5-2 this season, behind Michelle Terpstra's 48 assists. The junior was named Red Lion GNAC Offensive Player of the Week for her effort in the win. Terpstra added 11 digs, three kills, three blocks and a service ace in the victory, which secured at least third place in the GNAC standings for NNU.

Michelle's sister, Andrea, is 16th in NCAA Div. II in blocks per set (1.27) leading the Crusaders. As a team, NNU is 23rd in the nation averaging 2.32 blocks per set.

It will be the 71at all-time meeting between Northwest Nazarene and Western Oregon Thursday. The Wolves are looking for the 50th win in the series. The Crusaders snapped a six-match win streak by WOU in the series with a five-set victory earlier this season in Monmouth. After losing the first two sets, NNU rallied by winning the next three for the victory. Elayna Rice led the Crusaders and all players with 20 kills.

Saturday, Western Oregon and Central Washington (13-11, 9-7) meet for the 49th time in the series history. In a series that dates to 1985, WOU has won 28 of the matches, including a five-set decision earlier this season in Monmouth. The Wolves defeated then-ranked No. 24 Central Washington in a back-and-forth battle behind a near triple-double performance by Hannah Deede. The junior had 16 kills, 12 blocks, and eight digs.

It was the conference season-opener for both teams on Sept. 19. Christie Colasurdo had a team-high 18 kills, while Krissi Kemper and Blees added 10 apiece for a balanced WOU attack. Maddie Kuther switched to the libero position following the second set to record 25 digs, and Triggs added 20. Offensively, Jordin Ramos posted 29 assists and Erin Dobson connected on 21.

On the defensive end, WOU held CWU to a .161 attack percentage as the Wolves had 14 team blocks on the night. In addition to Deede's 12 stops, Blees added 10 while Kemper provided three blocks to lead the defensive effort. Central Washington's Linden Firethorne led all players in the match with 20 kills while Catie Fry added 52 assists.

Central Washington is currently sixth in the regional rankings, but the Wildcats are heading the wrong direction down the stretch. After winning five straight matches through October, CWU is 2-3 since Halloween. The Wildcats are coming off of that four-set loss at Northwest Nazarene. Firethorne and Rachel Hanses reached double figures in kills with 17 and 12. Erin Smith had six assisted blocks as the Wildcats finished with a 16-13 edge in total blocks. Kaely Kight had 27 digs to lead all players.

Kight's 5.47 digs per set is 19th in NCAA Div. II. Fry is 30th in the country averaging 10.63 assists per set.

The WOU and Northwest Nazarene start is scheduled for 7 p.m. Mountain Time. Live video and stats will be on WOUWolves.com.