Match #10
Western Oregon (4-5, 1-1 GNAC) at Seattle Pacific (4-6, 0-2 GNAC)
Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016, at 7:30 p.m. PT
Seattle, Wash. – Brougham Pavilion
Live Stats/Video | SPU Live Stats

Match #11
Western Oregon (4-5, 1-1 GNAC) at Saint Martin's (5-1, 1-1 GNAC)
Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, at 7 p.m. PT
Lacey, Wash. – Marcus Pavilion
Live Stats/Video

APPLE STATE TRIP TO SPU, SMU
Western Oregon volleyball continues early play in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a trip up I-5 this week. The Wolves head to Brougham Pavilion on Thursday, Sept. 22 for a 7:30 p.m. match with Seattle Pacific. On Saturday, just outside the state capitol, WOU plays Saint Martin's inside Marcus Pavilion at 7 p.m. Live video and statistics for both matches can be found at WOUWolves.com/Live.

WOLVES' WATCH
Junior outside hitter Alisha Bettinson is leading Western Oregon in kills through nine matches with 123, averaging 3.62 kills per set. Sophomore Amanda Short is second with 82 kills while Paige Orth has 65 kills. Orth is the WOU leading blocker at 0.82 blocks per game. Sophomore setter Maddie Mehciz leads the team with 10.03 assists per set while senior libero Christie Colasurdo paces the team with 5.09 digs per game followed by Sheila Limas De La Cruz at 3.21 digs. Redshirt freshman Libbie Hoene has the touch from the line, leading WOU in serving aces with 15.

FOCUSING ON THE FALCONS
Seattle Pacific spent its opening league weekend in Alaska, falling to the Nanooks in five sets and Alaska Anchorage in three. The Falcons' offense played well, but the home team held off a match point and scored the final three points to take the win. SPU battled with a tough UAA squad on Saturday but were outhit .248 to .079 in the three-game sweep. Gabby Oddo leads SPU with 133 kills, averaging 3.5 kills per set. Hannah Lautenbach is second in kills with 78 and Colleen Hannigan follows with 65. Symone Tran has set up the offense all season with 349 assists (9.18 per set). Seattle Pacific holds a 26-17 advantage in the all-time series despite WOU winning the last meeting on Oct. 22, 2015, in Monmouth, 3-0.
 
SAINTLY START
Saint Martin's volleyball had never started a season 2-0 since joining the GNAC. This year, SMU swept through their pod at the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase to start 4-0 and took a split on their trip to Alaska to enter the week at 5-1, 1-1 in league play. The Saints began their trip with a 3-set loss to UAA but bounced back with a win over Alaska in five sets. Rebecca Mitchell holds the lead in kills for SMU with 71 with Megan Vernoy (62), Rachel Gondrezick (57) and Maddie Knecht (46) close behind. The Saints have used two setters as Nicolette Nesbitt averages 5.57 assists per set and Dani Williams averages 4.70. Cassidy Apo is the dig leader at 93 (4.04/set) with Mitchell following with 75. Western Oregon holds a 32-4 advantage in the all-time series with both teams holding home court in 2015. WOU defeated the Saints in four sets on October 24 in Monmouth.
 
OPENING GNAC SPLIT
The Wolves got to play in front of their hometown fans for the first time this season and came out of the weekend with a 1-1 league record. Last Thursday, WOU could not knock off then-undefeated Northwest Nazarene, falling to the Crusaders in three sets. Alisha Bettinson led WOU with nine kills. The team bounced back on Saturday night with a thrilling comeback in the deciding set to defeat Central Washington in five, 15-13 in the final game. Bettinson matched her career-high with 22 kills while Amanda Short set a new best with 18 kills. Mariella Vandenkooy hit .293 and had 13 kills while Maddie Mehciz had a big night facilitating the offense with 58 assists. The Wolves won their first five-set match of the season and evened their record at 1-1 in matches that go the distance.

WHAT'S ON THE HORIZON
Western Oregon is back in New P.E. to host Simon Fraser on Thursday, Sept. 29 and Western Washington on Saturday, Oct. 1. Both matches are at 7 p.m.
 
PROMOTIONS NEXT WEEK
Thursday vs. SFU – Bust out your flip flops are slather on the sunscreen as we host a Back to School Beach Party inside New P.E. Prizes will be given out for the best beach look and the first 500 students at the match will receive a pair of WOU sunglasses!
Saturday vs. WWU – ALL RED EVERYWHERE! After receiving your free WOU RED OUT t-shirt at the football game that day, rock it proudly at the volleyball match. Students wearing their RED OUT t-shirt will get a free bag of popcorn to enjoy as the Wolves take on WWU.