Oct. 13, 2011
Box Score
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Outside hitter Marlayna Geary (Jr., Tacoma/Bellarmine) had a team-high 23 kills, leading Western Washington University past Western Oregon University, 25-19, 23-25, 12-25, 25-17, 15-12, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match Thursday at Sam Carver Gymnasium on the WWU campus.
The Vikings improved to 10-4 overall and moved into sole possession of first place in the GNAC at 8-2, a half-match in front of Seattle Pacific, which lost 3-2 to Northwest Nazarene.
Western Oregon, which had a three-match winning streak snapped, fell to 7-7 overall and 6-4 in conference play despite a match-high 25 kills by outside hitter Danielle Reese.
The Wolves held a 9-7 lead in the final set, but Geary took over, having kills on five of the Viking points in a 7-2 run. Middle blocker Emily Jepsen (Sr., Kennewick/Kamiakin), who had 11 kills and six blocks, finished out the match with the final kill.
The Vikings had started the match strong, never trailing by more than a point prior to pulling away from a 15-15 tie to win the opening set, but Western Oregon took control of the next two frames.
The Wolves won a tightly contested second set, then Reese had eight kills in the third set, in which Western Oregon ran off 18 of the last 22 points, starting with seven straight.
WWU then recovered in the fourth set, jumping out to a 10-4 lead and never looking back to force the decisive final frame.
Geary added 25 digs, sharing match-high honors with Viking libero Samantha Hutchinson (R-Fr., University Place/Curtis).
Both Western Oregon-WWU matches this season went to five sets, as the Vikings claimed a 23-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 15-8 triumph at Monmouth on Sept. 17.
WWU entertains Saint Martin's on Saturday (7 p.m.) in a GNAC counter. It will be "Dig Pink Night" to increase breast cancer awareness.
