Box Score Nov. 18, 2017 Box Score
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Western Washington University junior outside hitter Abby Phelps tied her career-high with 19 kills to lead the 5th-ranked Vikings to a three-set sweep over in-state rival Central Washington Saturday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action on WECU Court at Carver Gym in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Game scores were 25-17, 26-24, 25-20 in favor of the Vikings, who finished the regular season on an 18-match winning streak to improve to 25-3 overall and 19-1 in GNAC play. The 19 wins in conference play ties the GNAC record for most league wins, matching the 19-1 record set by last season's Alaska Anchorage squad. WWU clinched the GNAC title with Thursday's sweep over No. 13 Northwest Nazarene, the eighth GNAC title for the Vikings since the league was formed in 2001.
"Tonight was a great way to celebrate our seniors with one of our better performances of the season," said head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "They are a special group, and have had such an impact on our program, they deserved this league championship and they deserved a night like tonight."
Playing in front of an energetic crowd of 979 on Senior Night, the Vikings finished off a perfect home season at 10-0 in the return to Carver Gym, dropping only two sets in Bellingham all season.
"We love playing back on campus and really appreciate the support we receive from our student-body, the band and cheer squad, and our loyal fans," commented Flick-Williams on playing at Carver, where an average of 694 fans per game turned out. "There was great energy with Senior Night, with a lot of our alumni and with a great rivalry march. A great night all around."
Phelps (Manson, WA/Chelan) tied her career-high of 19 kills for the seventh time, including the fourth time in the last six matches. She also recorded 23 digs for her league-best 22nd double-double of the season, reaching double figures in kills and digs for the seventh consecutive match.
"Abby is a big-time player and really knows how to rise to the occasion," said Flick-Williams on her junior outside hitter. "In my mind, she is the clear choice for our conference player of the year and is having an All-American season. We don't rely on stars in our program, but Abby is showing that she is among the elite at this level."
Senior opposite Joellee Buckner (Colville, WA) and junior middle blocker Michaela Hall (Centralia, WA) also reached double figures in kills with 10 apiece, and each added 4 blocks to tie for the team high. Hall recorded her 300th career block to become just the 13th player in program history to reach that milestone. Junior libero Aubrey Buckner (Colville, WA) tied Phelps for the team high with 23 digs.
Senior setter Kristina Tribley (Wenatchee, WA) started her first match of the season, sparking the Vikings to the first-set victory with 4 assists in the first rotation.
"I was so proud of Kristina for stepping in on her Senior Night, and doing exactly what she has been doing in practice, and that is playing solid volleyball," said Flick-Williams. "She played great and started us in the right direction in a night that we really wanted to thank her for all her contributions to the program over the last five years."
In a battle of the No. 2 and No. 3-ranked blocking teams in NCAA II, the Vikings edged the Wildcats 8.0 to 7.0 in blocks for the match. WWU outhit CWU .242 to .135 in the match, with both teams playing solid defense recording 85 (WWU) and 86 (CWU) digs in the three-set match.
"It was a battle out there, like it always is against Central," said Flick-Williams on the rivalry match vs. CWU, of which the Vikings have won four straight and nine of the last 11. "We had some key moments in the match that swung things in our direction and we stayed true to who we are as a team...playing all the way to the end and improving throughout the match. We did that tonight."
The Wildcats finished the regular season going 0-2 on their road trip to Simon Fraser and WWU, dropping to 19-9 overall and 14-6 in GNAC play. Maggie McTaggart finished with a team-high 13 kills and recorded the double-double with 10 digs, and Shelby Mauritson tallied a match-high 24 digs.
Central jumped out to the early 4-1 lead in the opening set, but the Vikings answered with a 11-2 run to double the lead at 12-6. CWU fought back with a 5-1 run to pull to within two points at 13-11, forcing WWU to take its first timeout. The timeout stalled the momentum, with the Vikings coming out of the break with a 6-3 run to extend the lead to five points, 19-14, and finished off the set with a 25-17 victory to go up 1-0. Phelps got off to a quick start leading all players with 9 kills (.643) and Joellee Buckner contributed 5 kills (.333). Western hit .357 in the opening frame, while limiting Central to a .125 mark.
WWU got off to a quick start in the second set leading 8-4, but the Wildcats used a 7-0 run to build a three-point lead at 11-8. The Vikings battled back to tie the set at 11-11 and 12-12, but CWU used a 4-0 run to pull back ahead by a five-point margin at 19-14. Trailing 21-15, the Vikings put together a 7-1 stretch to tie the set 22-22. CWU pulled back ahead with two straight points to go up 24-22, but WWU answered with a 4-0 run, fending off a pair of set points, winning 26-24 to take the 2-0 lead in the match. Phelps factored into all four points during the 4-0 run, with two blocks and two kills, and sophomore defensive specialist Mae Thungc (Kent, WA/Kentridge) came off the bench to serve out the last three points. Phelps added 7 more kills (.238) and Hall had 6 kills.
"Mae (Thungc) was just amazing, coming into the game and really providing what I thought was the play of the match with her dig on set point in the second game," said Flick-Williams. "That was Mae's moment...she has been waiting for that, and she was simply awesome with her serving and defense."
WWU clinched the sweep with a 25-20 third-set victory to complete the perfect home season. The Vikings trailed early 5-3, but went on a 10-2 run to jump ahead 13-7. Central strung together a 4-0 run to climb to within four points at 20-16, but WWU pulled way winning five of the last nine points to end the match. Joellee Buckner recorded 4 of her 10 kills and Phelps led the defensive effort with 10 digs.
The Vikings, who received the GNAC's automatic bid to the NCAA II Championships by winning the league title, will find out their seed in the West Regional during Monday's selection show that will stream online via the NCAA II Volleyball homepage starting at 4:30 pm PT.
"We are excited for the postseason and practice hard to continue what has got us to this point," said Flick-Williams, whose team will be making a sixth consecutive trip to the postseason. "This is why you play all season, to get to this point, to get the chance to compete for a regional and national title."
Game Notes: The 18-match winning streak moves into a tie for 4th-longest in program history (record is 24 straight set in 2003)...WWU has dropped only five sets during the winning streak...Abby Phelps tied her career-high for kills in a match with 9, the seventh time she has reached that mark, and sixth time this season (4th in last 6 matches)...Phelps moved into 8th place in the WWU record books with 1,092 career kills...also moved into 6th place with 1,328 career digs (23rd in GNAC history)...Joellee Buckner is 5th in WWU history and 18th in GNAC history with 1,424 career digs...Buckner recorded her 13th double-double of the season...Michaela Hall reached 300 blocks for her career, becoming the 13th player in program history to reach that milestone...WWU has won 18 consecutive matches on the sport court inside Carver Gym.
