Box Score

BURNABY, B.C. - No. 19 Western Washington University dropped its Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener in five sets to Simon Fraser (13-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-18, 8-15) Wednesday evening at West Gym.

The Vikings lost their second consecutive match to fall to 4-5 on the season. Tonight's defeat was the first this season to come against a non-ranked opponent. Simon Fraser continued its best start in recent program history by improving to 8-1 on the season.

WWU was led by 12 kills and 6 blocks by sophomore middle blocker Kayleigh Harper (Oak Harbor, WA) and 9 kills and 20 digs by sophomore outside hitter Abby Phelps (Manson, WA/Chelan). Junior outside hitter Arielle Turner (Leavenworth, WA/Cascade) finished with 10 kills. Redshirt freshman libero Mae Thungc (Kent, WA/Kentridge) made her collegiate debut and recorded a team-high 21 digs.

The Clan had three players reach double-figures in kills, including a match-high 19 kills and 21 digs by Emma Jennings. Tessa May added 17 kills and 8 blocks for a match-high 21.5 points.

The match featured 17 tie scores and 4 lead changes in the five-set match, including a pair of tie scores in the deciding fifth set. SFU pulled away from a 3-3 tie in the final set with a 6-0 run and never looked back to record the victory.

WWU continues its GNAC opening road trip traveling to Billings, Montana for a Saturday match against MSU Billings at 7 pm MT.