Sept. 20, 2012

Box Score

NAMPA, Id. - Middle blocker Kayla Erickson (So., Gig Harbor/Peninsula) and outside hitter Marlayna Geary (Sr., Tacoma/Bellarmine Prep) combined for 30 kills as Western Washington University swept Northwest Nazarene University, 25-15, 27-25, 25-18, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball contest Thursday at Johnson Sports Center on the NNU campus.

It was the sixth straight victory for the Vikings, ranked No.13 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division II Coaches' Top 25 Poll. They improved to 10-1 overall and 3-0 in the GNAC.

NNU, which got 11 kills and 12 digs from Kaitlyn Tuholski, fell to 7-5 overall and 1-2 in GNAC play.

"Except for a little lull at the start of the second game, I thought it was a solid match from everybody," said WWU head coach Diane Flick (13th year, 259-71). "NNU tries to get you into a panic mode, but we were able to recover from that. Winning that second game was really important for us."

Geary had a match-high 16 kills, hitting .333, with three service aces and two blocks. Erickson had 14 kills in 28 attempts with just one error for a .464 percentage and contributed a match-best six blocks.

WWU hit .457 to .222 for the Crusaders in the first set. Geary had a kill and then served four straight points, two on service aces, for a 13-5 lead. The closest NNU got after that was seven and it trailed by as many as 13.

In set two, the Vikings overcame a 16-10 deficit. Trailing 24-22, they scored five of the last six points, three on kills by Geary.

WWU went out to a 16-10 lead in the third set and NNU never got closer than four.

WWU has now won the last six meetings with the Crusaders and holds a 29-5 series advantage.

The Vikings are at Central Washington for a GNAC match Saturday (7 p.m.).