Oct. 9, 2010

Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Outside hitter Marlayna Geary (So., Tacoma/Bellarmine Prep) had a team-high 14 kills and a .387 hitting percentage as Western Washington University swept previously unbeaten Seattle Pacific University, 25-22, 25-23, 25-18, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match Saturday night between two nationally ranked schools before a crowd of 747 at Sam Carver Gymnasium on the WWU campus.

The Vikings, ranked No.17 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association/NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, improved to 11-2 overall and moved into a tie for first with Seattle Pacific in the GNAC at 8-1.

"This was our most solid performance through a whole match this year," said Western coach Diane Flick. "We had lulls, but we came back from them. We haven't been doing that. I'm super proud, we came through a tough week together and put together a great performance."

No.12 Seattle Pacific suffered its first loss of the season, falling to 16-1 overall and 8-1 in conference play. The Falcons has not lost a set in their previous seven matches, and was one of just two unbeaten DII teams in the country.

Lindsey Wodrich led Seattle Pacific with a match-high 15 kills and added 12 digs and three blocks. Sarah Risser had 13 kills and 12 digs for the Falcons.

The Vikings broke away from an 18-18 tie in the opening set with four straight points, three of them on Seattle Pacific errors. The Falcons closed to 24-22 before a Bailey Jones (So., Mukilteo/Kamiak) kill closed out the frame.

"We set her in critical end-of-the game situations, and she came through," Flick said of Jones, who had seven kills, getting one after the Vikings had reached 22 points in each of the three sets. "She was dynamite."

Western then jumped to a big lead in the second set, only to have SPU go on a 9-1 charge, with kills or blocks from Nikki Lowell and Lindsey Wodrich accounting for the last seven points, to take a 15-14 advantage. From there, the margin for either team only exceeded one point on two occasions, the last one being when the Vikings scored the final two points to take the set.

In the third set, Western opened up an early lead again, going up 10-4. The Falcons rallied again, using a run of four straight points to close the gap to 16-14, but got no closer.

Outside hitter Megan Amundson (Sr., Stanwood) had 12 kills and libero Alison Gotz (Sr., Bothell/Archbishop Murphy) had a match-high 27 digs for Western, which has yet to drop a set in four home matches this season.

Western is 207-77 (.729) at Carver Gym in 37 seasons in that facility and 4-0 this year. The Vikings are 92-11 (.893) at home since going to a Sport Court surface in 2000, four of those setbacks coming last season.

COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL: Vikings roll in showdown with SPU

JOE SUNNEN - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

BELLINGHAM - So much for an epic clash of NCAA Division II volleyball titans.

The only real question left after a nearly flawless performance against Seattle Pacific University is just how high Western Washington University will climb when the next national rankings are released.

The No. 17 Vikings stunned No. 12 SPU on Saturday, Oct. 9, sweeping the undefeated Falcons 25-22, 25-23, 25-18 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference showdown at Carver Gym. The win gives Western a share of the conference lead and puts them in the driver's seat moving forward at the halfway point of the GNAC season.

"We had a game plan and we stuck to it the entire match," senior Allison Gotz said. "That's something we've struggled to do at times this season. So not only does it feel great to win this one, but it feels great to know that we can follow that game plan and execute start to finish. That's a big step for us. It takes us to whole new level."

Western (11-2, 8-1) won a tight first set, taking advantage of four hitting errors by the Falcons late in the game to seize some momentum. The Vikings trailed early, but rallied and took an 18-17 lead on a kill by Megan Amundson that they would never give up. The errors by SPU (16-1, 8-1) gave Western a 22-18 edge, and after the Falcons pulled back to 24-22, Western's Bailey Jones put the game away with a kill.

Not only did the early win give Western a quick shot of confidence, the hustle the Vikings showed in chasing down loose balls and digging out shots that they really had no business getting to proved to be something that would continue throughout the match.

If the Vikings weren't running halfway across the gym to keep a rally alive, they were diving into the scoring table or into the bleachers to reach a ball. After those saves Western was usually able to make a block or get a kill on its next possession to win the point.

"I was really impressed with how our team played," WWU coach Diane Flick said. "We were able to sustain our level of intensity throughout the match. Seattle Pacific is absolutely a great team. I'm just really, really excited about our ability to sustain that level of energy for a long period of time."

Western didn't slow down in the second game, running out to a 13-6 lead behind three kills by Marlayna Geary and a pair by Emily Jepsen. But before the Vikings could get too excited SPU started creeping back into the game. Back-to-back runs by the Falcons evened the game at 14-14, and SPU even took a brief lead at 15-14 and again at 19-18, but Western had an answer down the stretch. Jones came up clutch again with a kill late in the game that made it 24-23. Another SPU hitting error sealed the game and gave WWU a 2-0 lead.

"We went away from the game plan a little bit when things got a little tight," Flick said. "But once we got back to staying disciplined and doing the right things that we had practiced, we were able to settle back in. When we stick to it and run our game plan we can do great things."

The Vikings jumped out to another big lead in the third game, building a 15-9 advantage. After weathering another Falcons rally that closed SPU to within 16-14, Western started to pull to away. Before long the only thing left for the Vikings to do was count down the points until it was time to celebrate. It was the first GNAC win for WWU against the Falcons since 2008.

Geary finished with 14 kills and Jespen added 12 more to lead the Vikings. After the match Jepsen was shocked and excited beyond words to have come away with the sweep.

"That's a great team and we knew we had to bring it all," Jepsen said. "I was expecting a battle, and it was even though we won in three. Every point was tough. It was just so exciting. I'm so happy right now. You want to beat every conference team, and then to beat a team that's undefeated that's a great feeling."