Volleyball closes season with four straight at home

MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon volleyball team returns home to close out the 2019 season, playing their final four games at NPE Gym. This week the Wolves host Northwest Nazarene Thursday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. PST and Central Washington Saturday, Nov. 16, at 1 p.m.

Since picking up their second conference win of the season on Nov. 2, Western Oregon (4-19, 2-14 GNAC) dropped both their matches last week, losing 3-0 to Alaska Anchorage and Alaska on the road.

Lauren Smith led the Wolves in both matches in kills with a combined 16 for WOU over the two games. Makenzie York provided her second-highest total for kills in a game this season, posting eight against Alaska Anchorage on 22 attacks. Allie Spear's 21 digs against the Seawolves gave her consecutive games of at least 20 digs for the second time this season.

The Wolves enter the week with a .169 hitting percentage while allowing a .257 mark to opponents. They are averaging 10.81 kills, 1.75 blocks and 10.29 assists per set.

Delaney Smith continues her battle with Western Washington's Kayleigh Harper for the top spot in the conference in hitting percentage. After holding the lead last week, Smith currently sits just .012 percentage points behind Harper who leads the way at .386 on 495 attacks. Sianna DeCarli has moved to 14^th in the GNAC with 2.75 kills per set, leading the Wolves with 212 attacks.

Northwest Nazarene (11-12, 7-9 GNAC) has performed better on the road this season, going 5-5 away from Nampa while just 3-5 on their own court. The Nighthawks snapped a three-game losing streak last week with a 3-0 win over the MSUB Yellowjackets. This represents their final week of road games during the regular season.

WOU is 17-18 against NNU all-time. The Nighthawks won 3-0 Oct. 19 in Nampa to make it wins in eight of their last nine meetings. Western's last win in Monmouth came on Nov. 8, 2012. WOU is 10-7 at home in the series.

Central Washington (16-8, 11-5 GNAC) sits fourth in the current Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings, having won four straight games for the second-longest active win streak in the GNAC.

The Wildcats have a front line that features three of the top blockers in the GNAC. Julia Mellander (1.15 blocks per set), Diana Fa'amausili (0.90) and Bridgette Webb (0.81) anchor that defense. CWU also has the top receiver in the conference behind Kyla Morgan's 5.66 digs per set.

WOU is 9-20 against CWU all-time. The Wildcats have won four straight in the series. WOU's last win was in Monmouth on Sept. 17, 2016. They are 6-8 at home in the series.

The Wolves close out their season next week when they host Concordia on Tuesday, Nov. 19, and MSUB Thursday, Nov. 21.

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Players Mentioned

#18 Sianna DeCarli: OH; 6' 0"; Junior

#6 Delaney Smith: MB; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#8 Lauren Smith: OH; 6' 1"; Freshman

#1 Allie Spear: OH/DS; 5' 5"; Junior

#12 Makenzie York: MB/OPP; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#18 Sianna DeCarli
: 6' 0"; Junior
: OH

#6 Delaney Smith
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: MB

#8 Lauren Smith
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: OH

#1 Allie Spear
: 5' 5"; Junior
: OH/DS

#12 Makenzie York
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: MB/OPP