CHICO – The Chico State volleyball team gets its 2011 season started this weekend, traveling to southern California to take part in the Coyote Labor Day Classic, hosted by Cal State San Bernardino. Head Coach Cody Hein’s squad will be put to the test almost immediately, as the Wildcats face three of last year’s top four Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) teams this Friday and Saturday.

Chico State is coming off a 2010 campaign in which the Wildcats posted a 14-14 record and a ninth place finish in the conference standings. Despite a .500 record, the ’Cats came on strong at the end of the season, winning three of their final four matches and knocking both Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State out of postseason contention. Chico State has been picked to finish sixth in the conference this year, according to the annual preseason poll of CCAA head coaches.

The Wildcats feature a roster bolstered by the return of 2009 All-American outside hitter Makenzie Snyder, who was forced to sit out last season due to a wrist injury. Outside hitter Alex Shurtz – the CCAA and West Region Freshman of the Year in 2010 – is also back, accompanied by junior outside hitter Jessica Leek, an All-CCAA Second Team selection and West Region Honorable Mention from a year ago. Junior setter Sable Villaescusa, another All-CCAA Second Team pick from 2010, will anchor the Chico State offense and will attempt to post her third straight 1,000-assist season.

Chico State plays its first Coyote Labor Day Classic match Friday at noon as the Wildcats take on Alaska Anchorage. The Seawolves are already 2-2 on the young season, splitting four matches last week in Hawaii. Alaska Anchorage reached the 2010 NCAA West Regional on the strength of an 18-9 record, and finished third in the GNAC behind Seattle Pacific and Western Washington. The Seawolves have been picked to finish third again in the GNAC in a preseason poll of conference coaches.

Alaska Anchorage is led by senior outside hitter Jackie Matthisen, who averaged 13.5 kills a match during the Seawolves’ season-opening Hawaiian road trip, and sophomore middle blocker Robyn Burton (10 kills a match).

Chico State leads the all-time series, 4-3, but Friday’s match will mark the first time the Wildcats have played Alaska Anchorage since 1993.

Friday at 5 p.m. Chico State faces Western Oregon, a fourth place finisher in the GNAC in 2010 with a 14-9 overall record. The GNAC pre-season coaches poll picked the Wolves to once again finish fourth in the conference. Western Oregon is led by a pair of All-GNAC Second Team selections from a year ago, junior outside hitter Danielle Reese and sophomore middle blocker Krissi Kemper.

Chico State has won six of eight meetings all-time versus the Wolves. The last meeting between the two teams was a four-set Wildcat victory in October, 2009 to kick off Sonoma State’s Seawolf Spike Tournament in Rohnert Park.

The Wildcats get started early on Saturday, squaring off against Dominican at 10 a.m. The Penguins finished with a 3-26 record last year, and sport a young team in 2011, with just one senior on the roster. Dominican’s top returners from last year are sophomore outside hitters Seluia Falealili (3.14 kills per set in 2010) and Hanna Stocking (2.25 kills per set).

As if the Coyote Labor Day Classic competition wasn’t tough enough for the Wildcats, Chico State faces its biggest challenge in Saturday’s final match against nationally-ranked Western Washington at 2:30 p.m. The Vikings, a No. 17 entry in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) preseason poll, are coming off a successful 2010 campaign, earning a share of the GNAC crown and reaching the NCAA West Regional with a 20-4 overall record, resulting in the No. 16 ranking in the AVCA’s season-ending national poll. Western Washington, led by 2010 GNAC Player of the Year Emily Jepsen, are expected to be strong again this season – the Vikings were tapped to finish second in the conference in the GNAC’s preseason coaches’ poll.

Against Chico State, Western Washington has won five of seven head-to-head meetings. The Wildcats have not beaten the Vikings on the volleyball court since 1989.

You can follow Chico State’s Friday matches against Alaska Anchorage and Western Oregon, and Saturday’s tilt versus Dominican, online via Live Stats, available just prior to each match’s start time. CLICK HERE to keep up with the action as Chico State opens its 2011 volleyball season this weekend.