MONMOUTH, Ore. – After three straight matches on the road, the Western Oregon University volleyball team will get to enjoy playing back at home this week when they host Seattle Pacific on Thursday and Montana State Billings on Saturday. Both matches will start at 7 p.m. inside New PE Gym.
WOU (2-15, 0-10 GNAC) played just one match this past week which came on Saturday against Saint Martin's in Lacey. Although the Saints claimed the 3-0 win, it was a close match as Saint Martin's held on to win the second set by a 26-24 score and the third set by a 27-25 tally.
This will be the first matches back home since facing Simon Fraser on Oct. 9. The Wolves will rotate between home and road weeks over the final eight matches of the regular season, as they will also host Northwest Nazarene (Nov. 11) and Central Washington (Nov. 13) to close the home portion of the schedule.
WOU has tallied 681 kills, 625 assists, 96 service aces, 928 digs and 120 blocks on the season. Opponents have 844 kills, 767 assists, 97 service aces, 1,035 digs and 117 blocks this year.
Isabel Hurliman leads the team in points with 229, coming away with 192 kills, 22 service aces, 173 digs and 29 blocks. Bailee Hartsook adds 146.5 points tallying 134 kills, 75 digs and 20 blocks. Lauren Smith gives the Wolves three with over 100 points sitting at 110.5, collecting 95 kills and 24 blocks. Aubrey Stanton leads the way in assists with 341, followed by 186 from Laney O'Neil. Both Hurliman and Stanton are tied for the team lead in service aces at 22. Sophie Matlock leads the back row with 252 digs, with Hurliman second. Stanton is just a few digs short of 100 sitting at 96. Makenzie York leads the team in blocks with 46, with Bella Maclellan right behind at 38 and Hurliman in third.
Individually, WOU has several players ranked in the top-10 in the GNAC. Stanton is fifth in service aces per set (0.39), ninth in assists per set (6.09), and ninth in total assists (341). Hurliman is seventh in service aces per set (0.34), and sixth in points per set (3.58). York is 10th in blocks per set (0.98). Matlock is seventh in digs per set (3.94).
WOU will face Seattle Pacific first on Thursday. The Falcons are 11-7 overall on the season and 7-4 in GNAC play. While they've gone a perfect 9-0 at home, SPU has gone 2-7 away from Seattle, including a 1-5 mark in true road contests. This past week they picked up a pair of big home wins over Alaska Anchorage (3-0) and Alaska Fairbanks (3-2). SPU won the earlier meeting against WOU in Seattle back on Oct. 2 by a 3-0 score.
On the season, the Falcons have 855 kills, 812 assists, 105 service aces, 845 digs and 170 blocks. Opponents have 777 kills, 708 assists, 122 service aces, 785 digs and 171 blocks. Maddie Batiste leads the team with 192.5 points, tallying 165 kills, 131 digs and 28 blocks. Hannah Hair is right behind with 189 points, posting 142 kills and 81 blocks. Erin Gould gives the team three with over 150 points checking in at 153.5 with 130 kills, 136 digs and 17 blocks. Emily Tulino with 379 assists and Lindsey Lambert with 311 assists share the setter duties. On the back row, Abby Cunningham has 200 digs.
To close the week, WOU will host Montana State Billings on Saturday. The Yellowjackets are 8-12 overall on the season and 4-7 in GNAC play. MSUB is 0-8 away from home this season and 0-6 in true road contests. This past week they defeated Alaska Fairbanks in Billings (3-2) before falling to Alaska Anchorage (3-0).
For the season, MSUB has 780 kills, 714 assists, 90 service aces, 1,031 digs and 146 blocks. Opponents have 877 kills, 811 assists, 140 service aces, 1,083 digs and 114.5 blocks.
Bayli Monck leads the team in points with 274.5, coming away with 242 kills, 178 digs and 39 blocks. Skylar Reed is also over 200 points sitting at 216.5 with 195 kills, 92 digs and 18 blocks. Joelle Mahowald gives the team nearly three with 200 points as she has 193 with 141 kills and 70 blocks. Hannah Hashbarger sets up the offense with 539 assists and Christine Funk leads the back row with 287 digs.
In the earlier meeting this season between MSUB and WOU on Sep. 30, the Yellowjackets held on for the 3-2 victory. The Wolves won the previous meeting in Monmouth back in 2019 which also went five sets. WOU has gone 11-2 at home since 2007 against MSUB and have won the past five meetings in Monmouth.
Fans are allowed to attend and remember to wear a mask to the matches this week. Live video and stats will also be available. Live video can be found here and live stats can be found here.
