WESTERN OREGON VOLLEYBALL

Sept. 28 – Game 12 – at Simon Fraser
7 p.m. – Burnaby, B.C.  
Live Stream | Live Stats

Sept. 30 – Game 13 – at No. 10 Western Washington
7 p.m. – Bellingham, Wash.  
Live Stream | Live Stats

MONMOUTH, Ore.—The Western Oregon (5-6, 1-3 GNAC) volleyball team will hit the road in the third week of conference action by traveling to Simon Fraser and Western Washington University this week. The Wolves will cross the border to face SFU on Thursday before matching up against WWU on Saturday. Both contests are set to begin at 7 p.m.  

ABOUT SIMON FRASER (4-8, 1-3 GNAC): Simon Fraser snapped a four-match slide with a 3-1 win over Montana State Billings on Sept. 23… SFU was picked to place fifth according to the GNAC Coaches' Preseason Poll… SFU is ranked 10 out of 11 in the GNAC in hitting percentage (.169) and opponent's hitting percentage (.201)… Kirsten Pinkney leads SFU and is ranked No. 10 in the GNAC with 2.97 kills per set… Jayme Bratsberg is No. 2 in te league with 5.16 digs per set.

ABOUT WESTERN WASHINGTON (9-3, 3-1 GNAC): WWU has won back-to-back matches after falling to Northwest Nazarene, 3-1, two weeks ago… The Vikings were picked to place second in the GNAC Preseason Coaches' Poll… WWU is ranked No. 3 in the GNAC in hitting percentage (.248) and No. 5 in opponent's hit rate (.185)… The Vikes are the second-best blocking team in the league with 2.29 blocks per set… Abby Phelps leads WWU and is ranked No. 4 in the GNAC with 3.80 kills per set… Brette Boesel is No. 2 in assists (11.51 aps)

LOOKING AHEAD: The Wolves will get three opportunities next week, beginning with a Tuesday, Oct. 3 road match at Concordia… WOU will then host the University of Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday, Oct. 12 and Alaska Anchorage on Saturday, Oct. 14.

LAST WEEK: The Wolves held match point in the third set against No. 16-ranked Northwest Nazarene, but eventually fell in five sets to the Crusaders on Thursday… Central Washington arrived in Monmouth and Saturday and handed the Wolves a 3-0 loss for just the second sweep forced on WOU this season.

BETTINSON WATCH: With 945 kills, senior Alisha Bettinson is ranked No. 2 all-time in career kills during WOU's NCAA DII era… Bettinson trails the school record held by former Wolf Danielle Reese (1,065, 2009-12) by 120 kills… Bettinson's 2.86 kills per set rate for her career is ranked No. 6 all-time at WOU… Bettinson's 3,234 total attempts is second only to Reeses' 3,391 swings… Defensively, with 961 digs Bettinson is 39 digs away from becoming the fifth Wolf to collect 1,000 in a career.

THAT'S ACES: In addition to her kill totals, Alisha Bettinson is also ranked No. 9 in school NCAA DII history with 65 aces… Bettinson is one ace behind the next spot while Danielle Reese (2008-12) holds the school record with 96 aces… Sophomore Libbie Hoene holds the school's No. 2 ace rate with 0.34 aces per set… Six other former Wolves have averaged at least 0.30 aces per set while school record holder Mandy Veley (2004-05) leads by a comfortable margin over the pack with 0.55 aces per set.   

BLANKINSHIP EFFICIENCY: In four seasons in Monmouth, senior Sydney Blankinship holds a career hit rate of .283 for the Wolves to rank No. 3 all-time at the school… Krissi Kemper (2010-13) holds the school mark at .317 while Jordin Ramos (2011-14) is ranked second with a .296 rate.

ASSIST CHARTS: Junior Maddie Mehciz has tallied 1,636 assists in her tree seasons with the Wolves and is ranked No. 4 in the all-time career leaders… Next in front of Mehciz is former Wolf Shawn Paulino (2004-05) with 1,922 assists… Leila Holt, another junior is ranked No. 9 all-time at WOU with 776 career assists.   

DII WEST SHOWCASE: The Wolves went 2-2 while hosting the DII West Region Showcase from Sept. 7-9…  WOU alternated wins and losses over the three-day event, opening with a sweep against Cal State San Marcos and following with a 3-2 loss to Chaminade… WOU finished the tourney with a pair of five-set matches, first defeating Fresno Pacific and finally falling to Cal Sate East Bay on Saturday night.

BOWEN NAMED GNAC POW: Junior Mackenzie Bowen was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 5 after her play at the Concordia Labor Tournament… Bowen averaged 5.73 digs per set in the three matches in Portland and was named to the All-Tournament team for her efforts… Bowen posted a match-high 35 digs in a four-set win over Lubbock Christian.

RETURNERS: The Wolves return four of six starters from a year ago, including honorable mention All-GNAC selection Alisha Bettinson… Bettinson led WOU with 337 kills and a 3.40 kills per set average a year ago… Mariella Vandenkooy and Sydney Blankinship, ranked third and fifth on the team in kills respectively, provide additional experience on the offensive side for the Wolves… Vandenkooy averaged 2.23 kills per set while Blankinship led the team with a .271 hitting percentage… The team has the luxury of a pair of junior setters to turn to in Leila Holt and Maddie Mehciz… Mackenzie Bowen, another junior, returns as the most experienced defensive specialist.

GNAC PRESASON POLL: With 50 points, the WOU volleyball team was picked to place seventh according to the GNAC Coaches' Preseason Poll… Concordia edged the Wolves with 67 points for the No. 6 position while Saint Martin's followed the Wolves in eighth place… Alaska Anchorage was favored to repeat as GNAC championships by a single point over Western Washington, 110 to 109… Northwest Nazarene was also favored to be in the title hunt with 106 points and a third-place showing.

2016 RECAP: The Wolves finished with a 10-17 overall record in head coach Tommy Gott's first season… WOU went 7-13 in GNAC competitions to tie for seventh place in the conference standings… Following the season, senior defensive specialist Christie Colasurdo and junior outside hitter Alisha Bettinson were selected as honorable mention All-GNAC performers.