The Wildcats volleyball team have started the season with seven straight conference wins, continuing an eight conference game winning streak they ended last season with before falling in the NCAA West regional Quarterfinal to California State San Bernardino 0-3. In the last seven conference games, the Wildcats have lost only two sets.
Success starts at the top with coach Mario Andaya, who is in his 29th season as head coach of the CWU volleyball team. During Andaya’s tenure as the head coach, the Wildcats have only had five seasons where they lost more games than they had won. The last time an Andaya led team lost more than 13 games in a season was 2007. Thanks to Andaya, CWU currently leads the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) in hitting percentage and assists per set.
A big reason the Wildcats have continued their win streak is due to Marianna Payne, the 6-foot Outside Hitter who’s leading the team in attacks that are unreturnable, or “kills,” with 162. When Payne first heard about her stats, she was unphased.”I don’t really give it a second thought,” Payne said. “If I’m being honest, I’m just going out there to do my job and contribute to my team.” For her outstanding play, Payne was awarded GNAC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 14.
When asked about the winning streak, Payne ensured that the team was feeling no pressure. “I feel we take these things with a grain of salt as obviously each game we have is an opportunity, and we’re grateful for each and every opportunity that we get.” Payne also explained that there was no looking ahead to the tougher matchups, but rather the Wildcats were taking the schedule one game at a time to keep all their focus on each game.
Payne named Hannah Stires as one of the contributing factors to the team’s winning streak, praising Stires defensive play. “She really makes a lot of plays for this team,” Payne said. “And she does not let a lot of balls drop, so it makes it very hard for teams to score on us, because she has that presence on the court.” Stires currently leads the team in plays preventing an attack that nearly hits the ground, or “digs.”
This comes to no surprise to any fans of the Wildcats volleyball team as the 5-foot-5 defensive specialist has led the Wildcats in digs since joining the team as a freshman in 2020, and earned a GNAC All-Conference First Team selection in 2023. Stires is currently averaging 5.53 digs per set, which not only is a career high for her but leads the GNAC.
The Wildcats return home and look to continue their streak on Oct. 17 against Simon Fraser University, who the Wildcats have only lost to once at home. On Oct. 19, the Wildcats face their first major roadblock, Western Washington University, who the Wildcats have only beaten 13 times in their 48 matchups.
