ELLENSBURG, Wash./NAMPA, Idaho – The Western Oregon University volleyball team will wrap-up the first half of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference portion of the schedule this week when they travel to Central Washington on Thursday at 7 p.m. and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. (Pacific).
WOU (2-12, 0-7 GNAC) faced a pair of tough conference opponents at home this past week going four sets with Western Washington and pushing Simon Fraser in three sets.
The Wolves won the second set against Western Washington and were close to claiming set three in interim head coach Traci Stephenson's first match as head coach. Then on Saturday, WOU played a couple of tight sets in two and three falling just short (25-23) in each set.
WOU faces the final two teams they haven't seen in the GNAC this year before starting the second half of the conference schedule. The Wolves will see Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington again around the middle of November back in Monmouth.
The Wolves have 590 kills, 542 assists, 84 service aces, 784 digs and 102 blocks. Opponents have 703 kills, 639 assists, 81 service aces, 859 digs and 100 blocks.
Isabel Hurliman leads the team with 192 points, collecting 162 kills, 18 service aces, 149 digs and 24 blocks in 55 sets. Bailee Hartsook has 126.5 points with 117 kills, 72 digs and 15 blocks in 40 sets. Lauren Smith is third on the team in points with 94.5, tallying 82 kills, 35 digs and 18 blocks in 49 sets. Madison Hornback is fourth on the team in kills with 59, followed by 47 from Emily Olson. Aubrey Stanton and Laney O'Neil setup the offense with Stanton dishing out 286 assists and O'Neil with 166. Four Wolves have at least 10 service aces, with Stanton right behind Hurliman with 17 and both O'Neil and Sophie Matlock are tied with 10 apiece. On defense, Matlock leads the way in digs with 207. Hurliman is second with 149, while Stanton is third with 78 and Hartsook is fourth with 72. Makenzie York leads the team in blocks with 46 in 47 sets and Bella MacLellan is second with 31 blocks in 35 sets.
WOU ranks fifth in the GNAC in team service aces (84) and sixth in aces per set (1.53). Individually, Stanton is sixth in the GNAC in aces per set and ninth in both assists per set and total assists. York is 88th nationally and ninth in the GNAC in blocks per set. Matlock is ninth in the GNAC in digs per set. Hurliman is ninth in kills per set, seventh in points per set and ninth in service aces.
The Wolves begin the week at Central Washington. The Wildcats have won the past nine meetings, with the last WOU win coming in Monmouth in five sets during the 2016 season. The teams played once during the shortened spring season with CWU taking the 3-0 win in Ellensburg. In 2019, the Wildcats won in three sets in Ellensburg and then had to come back to win in five sets in Monmouth.
Central Washington is 8-5 on the season and 4-3 in GNAC play. The Wildcats were ranked in the AVCA top-25 national poll last week and are receiving votes in the national poll this week. This past week, they dropped both matches in Alaska, falling in five sets to Alaska Anchorage and in four sets to Alaska Fairbanks. The Wildcats are 6-0 at home this season.
CWU has 637 kills, 604 assists, 88 service aces, 790 digs and 125 blocks. Opponents have 614 kills, 574 assists, 54 service aces, 747 digs and 117 blocks. Four players have at least 117 points led by 176.5 from Ashley Kaufman, as she has 160 kills. Marianna Payne adds 172 points with 149 kills. Tia Andaya tallies 151 points with 118 kills and Leanna Shymanski has 117 points with 84 kills. Sydney Remsberg leads the team in assists with 268, followed closely by 261 from Andaya. Six players have at least 10 service aces led by 18 each from Remsberg and Andaya. On defense, Hannah Stires has 247 digs and Shymanski has sent back 58 blocks.
WOU will close the trip in Idaho on Saturday afternoon against Northwest Nazarene. The Nighthawks have gone 9-1 on the past 10 meetings as the Wolves won just a few matches ago back in 2018 claiming the five-set win in Nampa. NNU took both meetings in 2019 in three sets.
NNU is also 2-12 overall on the season and 0-7 in GNAC play. They have gone 0-2 at home this season, having played 12 matches away from home, with 11 of those being true road contests. Last time out, NNU lost both matches by 3-0 scores in Alaska and prior to that trip, they went to Ellensburg and lost in five sets to Central Washington.
NNU has 613 kills, 565 assists, 78 service aces, 895 digs and 83 blocks. Opponents have 753 kills, 700 assists, 112 service aces, 929 digs and 110.5 blocks. Natalie Sullivan leads the team in points with 215, tallying 194 kills. Brooke Foster adds 113.5 points with 104 kills and Anna Gable gives the team with three recording over 100 points sitting at 108 with 87 kills. Mckenzie Lee leads the team in assists with 376 and Helen Sullivan has 17 service aces. On defense, Caroline McMahon has 243 digs and Natalie Sullivan is second with 130 digs. Gable has sent back 41 blocks and Lee adds 33 blocks.
A look around the GNAC entering the week has Alaska Anchorage leading the way as the only undefeated team at 7-0. Western Washington is second with a 5-1 record. Alaska Fairbanks at 6-2 is just ahead of Seattle Pacific's 5-2 record. Simon Fraser and Central Washington are tied for fifth at 4-3. Montana State Billings is in seventh at 3-4, while Saint Martin's is in eighth at 1-6. Western Oregon and Northwest Nazarene are tied for ninth at 0-7.
Live video and stats will be available for both matches.
For Central Washington: Live video can be found here and live stats can be found here
For Northwest Nazarene: Live video can be found here and live stats can be found here
