Sept. 18, 2010

Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Middle blocker Emily Jepsen (Jr., Kennewick/Kamiakin) had a match-high 13 kills as nationally ranked Western Washington University defeated Western Oregon University, 25-22, 25-22, 25-20 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match Saturday at Sam Carver Gymnasium on the WWU campus.

The Vikings, ranked No.18 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association/NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, improved to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the GNAC with its fourth straight triumph.

Western Oregon, which had a three-match winning streak snapped, fell to 5-4 overall and 3-1 in the GNAC. Krissi Kemper had 12 kills for the Wolves and Danielle Reese added 11.

The Vikings overcame deficits midway through each of the first two sets. A run of six straight points gave Western Oregon a 15-14 lead in the opening frame, and the Wolves held the lead as late as 20-19 before three straight Viking points, capped by a Kari Rice (Sr., Toppenish/Eisenhower) ace, put Western Washington in front for good.

In the second set, the score was tied at 19-19 before the Vikings took control with a 4-1 run that included two Jepsen kills. Western Washington led nearly wire-to-wire in the final set, the only exception being a tie at 1-1.

"One of our goals has been to finish every match attacking," said Western coach Diane Flick. "It's something we've been building, not just tonight, but continually throughout the season."

The Vikings had a .355 attack efficiency, with Jepsen leading the way at .571, getting her 13 kills in 21 attempts with just one error. Western Washington had just six attack errors over the last two sets.

"If you look at it, a lot of those six errors were on blocks," Flick said, "which is okay because you know we're swinging away. I blame the coverage for those errors more than the hitters."

Rice finished with 35 assists, four kills, three digs, two blocks and one ace. Outside hitter Kathryn Mertens (Sr., Olympia) had nine kills, and Megan Amundson (Sr., Stanwood) six kills and 17 digs.

The Vikings are now 205-77 (.727) at Carver Gym in their 37th campaign at that facility. They are 90-11 (.891) at home since going to a Sport Court surface in 2000, four of those setbacks coming last season.

Saturday's victory also gives the Vikings a 23-13 edge in their series with WOU. Since the GNAC began in 2001, the Vikings have won 86.9 percent of their league matches (139-21), taking conference titles in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2007.

Western next travels to Alaska for GNAC counters against Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday (7 p.m.) and defending GNAC champion Alaska Anchorage on Saturday (7 p.m.).

Vikings take over first place in GNAC

by Joe Sunnen, The Bellingham Herald

Getting off to a fast start has been a goal for the Western Washington University volleyball team both in its matches and for the season.

After sweeping Western Oregon University 25-22, 25-22, 25-20 at home to remain undefeated in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, it's hard to imagine a faster start to conference play for the Vikings.

Emily Jepsen finished with 13 kills and Kathryn Mertens added nine more to lead WWU past the Wolves on Saturday, Sept. 18, at Carver Gym.

With the win WWU (7-1, 4-0) takes sole possession of first place in the GNAC standings and grabs some momentum heading into a tough road trip to Alaska next week. The Vikings entered the week ranked No. 18 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association/NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll and showed why with convincing wins over Saint Martin's on Friday and then WOU.

"One of our goals is to have fast starts and I think our offense was able to do that tonight," WWU coach Diane Flick said.

The Vikings started well in the first set, but nearly let it slip away. After holding a 13-6 lead early on the Wolves rallied to take a 20-19 lead before WWU started putting the ball away and putting the pressure on Western Oregon. The Vikings won a long rally to even things at 20-20 and a kill by Mertens gave the Vikings a 21-20 lead. Kari Rice delivered an ace to push the advantage to 22-20. After a couple more Wolves points Bailey Jones found an empty bit of floor on the other side of the net and tipped the ball over to give WWU the first set.

"I think we showed a lot of patience out there," Mertens said. "We're starting to take our time, be patient, and play really well as a team. There are always things you can improve on, but for the most part I think we did a good job following the game plan."

Western Oregon (5-4, 3-1) pushed the Vikings in the second set, trading points back and forth until WWU was finally able to create some space late in the game. Mertens broke a 19-19 tie with a kill and Jepsen followed with a kill of her own to make it 21-19. An ace by Haleigh Adkins and another Jepsen kill pushed that lead to 24-21 before a Wolves serving error ended the set and gave WWU a 2-0 lead in the match.

"I was just pleased to see this team keep persevering and pushing through," Flick said. "They put up a big block against us. That's something we don't mind seeing, but it's a challenge and we just kept attacking."

Whatever riddle the Wolves block presented for WWU early in the match was solved by the third set. The Vikings ran out to a 17-10 lead in the deciding set before weathering a late Wolves rally to eventually earn the sweep. WOU clawed to within 22-19, but again Mertens and Jepsen came up with back-to-back kills late in the game to keep the Wolves at bay.

The Vikings hit the road next week to close out September with matches at Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage.

"Alaska is a tough road trip," Flick said. "It's not only tough teams to play, but it's a tough place to travel to. It's great to have some momentum, but I also think we have a lot of work to do. I still think we need to come to practice on Monday with our hard hats on ready to go to work."