McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Fresh off back-to-back wins, the Linfield volleyball team is hungry to open conference play.
 
The Wildcats will play at Willamette at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in their first official conference match since Nov. 9, 2019. They will follow with a match at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Puget Sound.
 
THE RECORDS
Entering the week, the Wildcats are 4-2 while the Bearcats are 3-2 and the Loggers are 6-3. The Wildcats were picked ninth in the Northwest Conference Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll. The Bearcats were picked seventh while the Loggers were picked third.
 
LINFIELD AT A GLANCE
The Wildcats opened the season with four non-conference wins under second-year head coach Haley Domeck. The 'Cats picked up a pair of 3-1 wins over St. Catherine at the Colorado College Classic and won two straight matches against Warner Pacific (3-2) and Mills (3-0). The two losses were against Colorado College, which opened the season ranked No. 2 in Division III.
 
Junior outside hitter Raelynn Hammock leads the 'Cats with 68 kills, 3.40 kills per set and 11 aces. She has also picked up 65 digs, which is tied for the team lead with sophomore defensive specialist/libero Yssa Alcones.
 
Junior middle blocker Ellie Mead is averaging 2.11 kills per set while leading the 'Cats with 15 blocks. Senior outside hitter Regan Dean is averaging 2.05 kills per set while junior middle blocker Seraiah Ochse is averaging 1.95 kills per set with a .341 hitting percentage and nine blocks.
 
Junior setter Aylea Dixon has been a facilitator this fall. She racked up 214 assists, 10.19 digs per set and 1.57 digs per set in 21 sets played.
 
WILLAMETTE AT A GLANCE
Willamette opened its season with a five-set non-conference loss to Lewis & Clark at home. They went 3-1 on a successful trip to the Emory Classic in Atlanta, picking up four-set wins over LaGrange and Covenant before sweeping Brevard.
 
The Bearcats are averaging 10.74 kills, 9.79 assists, 14.95 digs, 1.03 blocks and two aces per set with a .133 hitting percentage.
 
Senior outside hitter Natalie Klotz leads the team with 3.84 kills per set and a .226 hitting percentage. Junior outside hitter Dani Queja is averaging 1.89 kills per set while junior setter Emma Porter leads the team with 147 assists and 7.74 assists per set. Junior libero Shyla Sato anchors the defense with 96 digs and 5.05 digs per set while junior opposite hitter Ana James has 10 blocks.
 
PUGET SOUND AT A GLANCE
Puget Sound won four of its last five matches, going 3-1 at the Whittier/La Verne tournament along the way. The Loggers are averaging 11.8 kills, 10.8 assists, 2.5 aces, 15.4 digs and 1.6 blocks per set.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Katelyn Chekian leads the team with 2.54 kills per set while senior outside hitter Jordan Holman (2.52) and senior middle hitter Katherine Carley (2.30) are also averaging better than two kills per set. Carley also leads the team with 23 blocks.
 
Senior setter Sarah Blumenfeld leads the Loggers with 169 assists and 5.45 assists per set while senior libero Chloe Akiona-Bannan owns the team lead with 103 digs and 3.55 digs per set.
 
HISTORY
Linfield and Willamette have met 57 times with the Bearcats leading the series 31-26. The Wildcats are 23-29 against the Bearcats in conference play, including a 12-15 record on the road. The Bearcats have won the last six matchups in straight sets, most recently sweeping the Wildcats in a home-and-home series during the abbreviated spring 2021 season on Apr. 1-2.
 
Puget Sound has had Linfield's number, leading the series with a 45-7 overall record and a 41-7 conference mark. The 'Cats are 3-22 against the Loggers in Tacoma. The Loggers have won the last eight meetings, most recently sweeping the 'Cats in 2019 with scores of 3-1 and 3-2.