MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon volleyball team begins a run of four straight matches away from home this week, first heading to Central Washington Oct. 17 and Northwest Nazarene Oct. 19.
Western Oregon (3-12, 1-7 GNAC) is coming off two losses at home this week, losing 3-1 to Alaska before pushing Alaska Anchorage to the brink in a five-set defeat last Saturday.

The 3-2 loss to the Seawolves was the first five-set match of the season for the Wolves which saw them nearly up-end the second-ranked team in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Sianna DeCarli led the charge with a career-high 17 kills on 40 attacks. She also added on seven blocks and a dig to her effort. Lauren Smith was not far behind, contributing 16 kills with nine digs and a pair of blocks while Sarah Crowell finished with a double-double, totaling 13 kills and 11 digs. Allie Spear's five service aces on Saturday ties for the sixth-most in a single match in WOU's NCAA-era history.

On the season, Delaney Smith (.346, 2^nd) and Allyson Crisp (.298, 8^th) both rank in the conference's top 10 in hitting percentage. Smith has recorded a .400 or better hit percentage in five of her last six matches.  Crisp is also among the GNAC's leading blockers, averaging 0.84 blocks per set.  As a team, the Wolves average 10.78 kills per set on a .178 hit percentage while their opponents hold a .253 mark.

Central Washington (9-7, 4-4 GNAC) enters Thursday's match in sixth place in conference standings.  The Wildcats are in the top four in the GNAC in multiple categories including digs (2^nd), kills (3^rd), assists (3^rd), blocks (4^th) and opponent hitting percentage (4^th). CWU enters the week receiving votes in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll. 

They are led by junior Makala Swart who averages 3.38 kills per set, totaling 159 on the season, and is currently 4^th in the conference in points per set at 3.89.

WOU is 9-19 all-time against Central Washington. The Wildcats have won three straight and five of the last six meetings. Western Oregon's last win in the series came Sept. 17, 2016, in Monmouth. Their last win in Ellensburg was on Oct. 29, 2011, in five sets.

Northwest Nazarene (7-8, 3-5 GNAC) has lost two of their last three matches, splitting their previous week with a five-set loss to Montana State Billings and a 3-2 win over Central Washington. Three of their last four matches have gone five sets, holding a 2-1 record in those matches. They are 4-1 overall on the season in five-set battles.

Sophomore Brooke Foster provides youthful leadership for NNU, pacing the team with 4.00 points, 3.21 digs, 0.36 services aces and 3.41 kills per set.

WOU is 17-17 against NNU all-time. The Wolves won 3-2 in Nampa in the pair's final meeting of 2018 to end a seven-game win streak for the Nighthawks. WOU is 7-10 on the road in the series.

Western Oregon's match at Central Washington is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday before the 6 p.m. PDT meeting with Northwest Nazarene on Saturday. Both matches will have live stats and video available here.