Western Oregon Weekly Women’s Volleyball Digest

WOU is now 4-5 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action (tied for fourth place) and is 6-13 overall.

Salem-News.com

MONMOUTH - Western Oregon road and home matches feature Seattle teams: Western Oregon will travel to Seattle University on Thursday and then return home to host No. 15 nationally ranked Seattle Pacific on Saturday at the Physical Education Building. Both matches are set to begin at 7:00 PM.

Alaska divide: The Wolves split a pair of matches in Alaska last week, topping Anchorage on Thursday in three games (30-24, 31-29, 30-28), before falling in a marathon to Fairbanks on Saturday (25-30, 32-30, 30-25, 29-31, 15-11).

Road improvements: Western Oregon picked up its first road victory of the year and almost had two during the Alaska swing. The Wolves are now 1-7 in its away uniforms, 3-1 at home, and 2-5 in neutral site matches.

Alaska asterisks: Junior Shakira Jenkins (Vancouver, Wash./Mt. View HS/Chemeketa CC) had 31 kills in the two matches and also posted six blocks. Laura Sakala (So., Beaverton) added 28 kills and had a hot .328 hitting percentage....Four of WOU’s eight games in Alaska were decided by just two points...The Wolves collected a season series sweep over the Seawolves, and earned a split with the Nanooks.

Joe’s jots from Alaska: “We need to fire on at least four cylinders to move forward consistently. We have been a bit off, and I am checking the distributor wires, and the alternator to see if we can fix the problem. At times, our production offensively is first rate, but we stall and sputter with a lead. I feel like we are continuing to improve in our ability to deal with the pressure of travel and close matches as we mature, but we seem to be lacking the ability to run away and hide on the scoreboard when we have the opportunity. Laura (Sakala) is continuing her solid play, and Shay (Shakira Jenkins), Kat (Katrina Johnson), and Lisa (Martini) are dominant in stretches. Our defensive trio of Claire (Carpenter), Jessica (Baty), and Danielle (English) are as fun to watch and productive as any defensive crew in the conference. Amy Herron had two very good matches and her decision making ability is improving with experience at this level.”

By the numbers: In WOU’s balanced attack, junior Shakira Jenkins leads the team in kills with 3.16 a game, with sophomore Katrina Johnson next at 2.56, followed by freshman Lisa Martini at 2.28 and Laura Sakala with 2.22. Jenkins has posted 21 kills against Incarnate Word , Central Washington and Alaska Fairbanks this season, while Johnson had 21 against Saint Martin’s and Alaska, and Martini had 19 in WOU’s win over Chadron State.

Junior Claire Carpenter (Gresham/Centennial HS) leads the Wolves in digs with 3.88 per game and had a season-best 30 against Fairbanks on Saturday, while freshman Jessica Baty (Pendleton) is right behind at 2.98. Martini is the blocks leader with 0.78. Freshman Amy Herron (Spokane, Wash./Mead HS) has 26 aces and 6.94 assists to lead the Wolves in those categories, and she had a season-best 60 assists at Alaska Fairbanks.

Emerald City opponents: Western Oregon will see two teams from the Emerald City this week, first traveling to Seattle University on Thursday and then hosting Seattle Pacific on Saturday night. After a hot start, Seattle has cooled off a bit in GNAC play, sitting at 3-5 in league action.

The Redhawks began the year 9-2, with impressive wins over nationally ranked Cal State LA and Hawaii Pacific, but are now 12-7 overall since conference play began. Seattle fell in its only match last week to rival Seattle Pacific (3-0).

The Redhawks have owned the Wolves recently, having won the last eight matches between the two schools, and Seattle leads the all-time series, 8-6. Seattle Pacific has risen to the top of the tough GNAC loop, sitting unbeaten in conference play (10-0) and they are 18-2 overall.

Ranked 15th in last week’s national poll, the Falcons were also listed fifth in the Pacific region rankings. SPU has won 12 straight matches, and during that string they have only been pushed beyond four games once.

The only blemishes on the Falcon slate to date was when they lost their opener to BYU-Hawaii, and they also fell to Fort Lewis before league play began. The Falcons clocked the Wolves on Sept. 14 in Seattle in three games, and SPU has now won the last five meetings between the two schools. The Falcons also lead the all-time series, 13-11.

Houck at Home: “Seattle and Seattle Pacific make for a great opportunity to see where we fit in the conference. They are both strong programs, and SPU has been a dominant force in the conference this season. I love the challenge of facing good teams, and it is always great to be at home in New PE for a big match.”

Polling: The first official NCAA Division II Pacific Region poll came out on Sept. 27, and the next listing will be released on Oct. 11. The top eight teams in the final poll, including the conference champions from the GNAC and California Collegiate Athletic Association, will qualify for the NCAA tournament.

Here is the most current list. (1) Cal State San Bernardino, (2) Chico State, (3) UC San Diego, (4) BYU-Hawaii, (5) Seattle Pacific, (6) Western Washington, (7) Cal State LA, (8) Chaminade, (9) Central Washington. Nationally, Seattle Pacific is ranked 15th, Central Washington is 17th and Western Washington is 29th.

Improvement: In 2005, under first-year coach Houck, the Wolves won five more games in conference play than in 2004 and picked up three more wins overall to finish 11-15 and 9-9 in the GNAC.

Houck Headlines: Coach Joe Houck came to WOU with a 97-32 career record, gained from leading the Concordia University program for five seasons (his 51-10 record at Eastern Washington as associate head coach is not included in his career mark). Houck, who also won three state titles as a prep coach at Barlow High School in Gresham, now has a collegiate mark of 114-60.

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