Box Score Nov. 3, 2017 Box Score
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Western Washington University senior opposite Joellee Buckner recorded a 15-kill, 28-dig double-double and junior outside hitter Abby Phelps reached the 1,000-kill mark for her career to lead the No. 8-ranked Vikings to their 13th consecutive victory with a 3-1 win over Alaska Anchorage Thursday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action on WECU Court at Carver Gym. Game scores were 25-13, 25-21, 23-25, 25-20 in favor of the Vikings, who remained in first place in the GNAC with a 14-1 league mark and reached the 20-win mark at 20-3 overall. WWU has now recorded six consecutive 20-win seasons. The four-set victory snapped a four-match losing streak against UAA in Bellingham, and marked the first season sweep of the Seawolves since 2012.
"I am really happy about this win, because it had been a while since we beat them at home," said head coach Diane Flick-Williams, in her 18th year leading the program. "I really proud of the team for not only getting the win, but how we did a good job of being tough early and then battling back when we faced some uphill battles." Buckner (Colville, WA) recorded her 11th double-double of the season with the 15 kills and 28 digs, and also added 3 blocks for 18.5 points. During the current 13-match winning streak, Buckner has been an all-around force for the Vikings averaging 3.07 kills, 5.26 digs and 1.21 blocks per set.
"Everyone sees the digs...the kills...the blocks and serves from Joellee, but what they don't see is her demeanor on the court and what she means to this team," added Flick-Williams on her senior. "She is the player we can always look to when we are a little frazzled as she provides us with a steady presence."
Phelps (Manson, WA/Chelan) tied her career high with 19 kills, the fourth time she has reached that mark. The reigning GNAC Defensive Player of the Week added 25 digs for her league-leading 17th double-double of the season. Of her match-high 19 kills, 12 came in the third and fourth sets, with the 1,000th kill part of her 8-kill fourth set. Phelps joined an elite group by becoming the 13th player in WWU history to reach 1,000 career kills, and is just the fourth player in program history with at least 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. She is also just the 14th player in GNAC history to join the 1,000-kill, 1,000-dig club.
"It is not quite a surprise that she accomplished this, as her journey to this point has been outstanding and she has put in so much hard work," said Flick-Williams. "She has put in so much work off the court to get to a point where when she may not be at her best, but then can rise to the occasion when we need her like we did in the fourth set tonight. I am so incredibly proud of her and can't wait to see what she will next."
In addition to the big performances by Buckner and Phelps, the Vikings were led by a big block presence at the net. Heading into the match ranked 4th in NCAA Division II with 2.78 blocks per set, WWU out-blocked UAA 13.0 to 7.0 for the match. Junior middle blocker Michaela Hall (Centralia, WA) recorded 8 blocks and sophomore middle Joslyn Bopray (Spokane, WA/Lewis & Clark) added 5 blocks. Junior libero Aubrey Buckner (Colville, WA), the younger sister of Joellee, led four Vikings with double-digits in digs with 30, one off her career high. Junior setter Brette Boesel (Brewster, WA) paced the offense with 51 assists and notched the double-double with 11 digs. UAA was led by 17 kills from two-time All-GNAC outside hitter Leah Swiss and a14-kills, 22-dig double-double from reigning AVCA Division II Player of the Week Chrisalyn Johnson. Libero Keala Kaio-Perez led three Seawolves with 20+ digs, logging a match-high 36 digs. Overall UAA recorded 122 digs, one off the GNAC record for digs in a four-match set.
"I have such respect for Anchorage and their program for how hard they fight," said Flick-Williams on the rivalry with UAA. "You knew this was going to be a battle, like it always is with them. It was a hard-fought match against a very good team. Playing them brings out the best in us, and I think that works both ways."
WWU opened the match with a 25-13 first set victory, pulling away from a 6-6 tie by going on a 7-2 run. Leading 13-8, UAA went on a 3-1 run to pull to within 3 at 14-11. The Vikings finished strong with several key blocks, going on a 11-3 run to finish the set for the 12-point victory. Western out-blocked UAA 7.0-1.0, led by 6 blocks from Hall. Joellee Buckner tallied 4 kills (.333) and Phelps had 3 kills. The Vikings went up 2-0 with a 25-21 second-set win, holding off a late rally by the Seawolves. WWU carried a small lead through the early part of the set, before building a five-point leads at 17-12, 22-17 and 24-19. UAA held off a pair of set points before the Vikings closed out the game for the 25-21 win. Phelps led the Vikings with 4 kills, with Hall and Buckner each recording 3 kills apiece. Buckner also recorded 9 digs to lead the WWU defensive effort. Swiss (4 kills) and Kaio-Perez (10 digs) statistically led the Seawolves.
The Vikings and Seawolves exchanged 3-0 runs several times during the third set, first with WWU tying the score 10-10, and then UAA regaining a three-point lead at 13-10. WWU then went on a 5-1 binge to grab its first lead of the set at 15-10, forcing UAA to use a timeout. Anchorage responded out of the timeout going on a 4-0 run to retake the lead at 18-15. The back-and-forth set continued with the Vikings pulling even at 21-21, but UAA went on another 3-0 run to take a 24-21 lead. WWU fought off a pair of set points, but Anchorage extended the match to a fourth set with a 25-23 win.
The fourth set saw UAA jump out to an early 5-1 lead, but the Vikings chipped away at the deficit to pull even at 9-9. The back-and-forth continued between the two teams, until the Vikings pulled even again at 15-15, and then went on a 7-2 run to lead 22-17, and the eventual 25-20 win to seal the match. Phelps tallied 8 of her match-high 19 kills in the final set on 21 attacks.
The Vikings return to GNAC play on Saturday hosting Alaska Fairbanks at 7 pm on WECU Court at Carver Gym. The match is Local Heroes Night with free admission for all workers in public safety.
All GNAC matches are streamed live on WWUVikings.com/Live and available via the GNAC channel on several streaming devices (Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, AndroidTV). Game Notes: Abby Phelps recorded her 47th career double-double, with her 17 this season leading the GNAC...is now 12th in WWU history with 1,006 career kills and 7th averaging 3.33 kills/set...Brette Boesel moved into the top 5 in WWU history in assists with 2,590...Joellee Buckner moved into 5th in WWU history with 1,332 career digs (3.29 per set) and is also 5th with 405 career sets played...over the last four seasons (since 2014), WWU has combined to go 91-24 (.791)...WWU has recorded 20+ wins in six consecutive seasons and 13 in the 18 years Diane Flick-Williams has led the program...WWU is now 7 wins short of 900 for the history of the program (893-557-7/.615)...UAA freshman setter Casey Davenport logged 41 assists, 29 digs and 4 kills...she is the younger sister of WWU redshirt freshman Alison Davenport (2 digs, 1 service ace tonight).
