ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Led by another solid performance by middles Kayleigh Harper and Michaela Hall, the No. 4 nationally-ranked Western Washington University Volleyball team defeated Alaska Anchorage in four sets Thursday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action at the Alaska Airlines Center.
 
WWU won its 18^th consecutive match to improve to 18-3 overall and remains perfect in GNAC play at 13-0 with the 25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 25-19 victory over the Seawolves. In addition to the 18-match winning streak, the Vikings have also won 31 consecutive GNAC contests dating back to last season. Alaska Anchorage falls to 16-5 overall and slips into a second-place tie in the GNAC with a 9-4 league record.
 
"What a tough battle with Anchorage, like it always is," said 19^th-year WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "They are a gritty team and tonight was a prize fight."
 
The Vikings continue their Alaskan road trip on Saturday matching up against Alaska Fairbanks at 1 pm AKT/2 pm PT. The Nanooks carry a 7-match winning streak into the contest vs. the first-place Vikings after beating Simon Fraser 3-2 on Thursday night in Fairbanks.
 
Harper (Oak Harbor, WA) recorded a match-high 16 kills on a .395 hitting percentage and also had 3 blocks, while Hall (Centralia, WA) added 12 kills on a .600 hitting percentage and contributed a match-high 6 blocks.
 
"Kayleigh and Michaela were a very steady force for us as we battled the grind of the match," added Flick-Williams.
 
Senior outside hitter Abby Phelps (Manson, WA/Chelan) recorded a 14-kill, 21-dig double-double and redshirt freshman Gabby Gunterman (Lake Stevens, WA) had 13 kills and 4 blocks.
 
While the Vikings had four players in double-figures in kills, it was the defense that may have had the biggest influence on extending the winning streak to 18 consecutive matches. WWU totaled 96 digs in the four-set match, with senior libero Aubrey Stephens (Colville, WA) leading the way with a season-high 29 digs.
 
"Our defense was key to give us second opportunities tonight," said Flick-Williams. "Recording 96 digs in four sets shows a lot of heart."
 
In addition to Phelps' 21-dig effort, sophomore Alison Davenport (Auburn, WA/Auburn Mountainview) and junior Mae Thungc (Kent, WA/Kentridge) each added 16 digs. Davenport also had 5 blocks and 5 kills for the solid all-around effort.
 
Senior setter and reigning GNAC Offensive Player of the Week Brette Boesel (Brewster, WA) led all players with 49 assists and nearly totaled a double-double with 9 digs.
 
The Seawolves had three players reach double-digits in kills, led by 14 from freshman outside hitter Eve Stephens.
 

  
 
 
 
 
 
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SET 1 (WWU 25, UAA 21): The early part of the first set featured nine tie scores, before the Vikings pulled away an 11-11 tie going on a 4-0 run. UAA pulled to within two points at 22-20, but WWU closed out the set winning three of the final four points for the 25-21 win. Harper had 6 kills on a .600 hitting percentage, while Phelps and Gunterman each had 4 kills.
 
SET 2 (UAA 25, WWU 23): The Vikings rallied late in the set to take a 23-22 lead, going on a 8-2 run after trailing 20-16. After relinquishing the lead, the Seawolves went on a 3-0 run to close out the set with a 25-23 win to tie the match 1-1.
 
SET 3 (WWU 25, UAA 21): The Vikings trailed early in the set 11-6 with UAA going on a 7-1 run to pull away after being down 5-4. WWU went used a 7-0 run to pull even at 15-15 and then pull ahead 19-15. The Seawolves answered with a 4-0 run out of their timeout to tie the set at 19-19, but Western pulled away from a 20-20 tie going on a 5-1 run to end the set.
 
SET 4 (WWU 25, UAA 21): The Seawolves again led early in the set, using a 8-3 run to build a three-point lead at 14-11. A UAA service error started a 4-0 run that would give the Vikings the lead at 15-14, forcing the Seawolves to call a timeout. WWU continued the momentum going on a 6-2 run out of the timeout to grow its lead to 21-16, and closed out the match with a 25-21 victory.
 
The Vikings (18-3, 13-0 GNAC) continue their Alaskan road trip facing Alaska Fairbanks (10-10, 8-5) on Saturday at 1 pm AKT/2 pm PT. The match will be stream live and feature live statistical updates at GNAC.tv.
 
MATCH NOTES…the match featured 30 tie scores and 15 lead changes…the Vikings hit .211 as a team in the match, compared to UAA at .161…the Vikings have had a higher team hitting percentage than their opponent in all but one match during the 18-match winning streak…Thursday's team hitting percentage snapped a streak of five consecutive matches with a .300 or greater hitting percentage.
 
STREAK NOTES…WWU extended winning streaks of 18 matches this season and 31 consecutive GNAC victories (dating back to last season)…during the 18-match winning streak, the Vikings have won 54 of 64 sets and recorded (11 sweeps)…18 consecutive wins is tied for the 5^th-longest winning streak in program history.
 
THE PHELPS TRACKER…Abby Phelps moved into the all-time GNAC top 5 for kills with 1,453, passing Northwest Nazarene's Louise Free on the list…now one kill short of No. 4 Alyssa Given (SPU) on the list…Phelps became the GNAC's all-time leader in attack attempts with 4,461, passing the old mark of 4,408 by Kendra Bodine of NNU…Phelps also moved into 4^th place in GNAC history with 1,654.5 points (kills+aces+block solo+½ block assist)…her 21 digs Thursday night moved her over 1,700 for her career, moving into 3^rd place in WWU history with 1,710 career digs…also moved into 9^th in GNAC history in career digs.
 
AGAINST ANCHORAGE…WWU completed the regular-season sweep over Alaska Anchorage for the second straight season and has a current 5-match winning streak vs. UAA…leads the all-time series 36-17, including a 20-9 record in Anchorage…WWU has won the last 7 GNAC contests vs. UAA in Anchorage…won 22 of the last 24 matches in the state of Alaska and are 13-2 all-time in the Alaska Airlines Center (5-1 vs. UAA). 
 
BLOCK LEADERS…Michaela Hall and Kayleigh Harper continue to leapfrog each other in the WWU record book for most career blocks…Hall led all players with 6 blocks Thursday night, giving her 391 in her career for 7^th-most in WWU history…Harper had 3 blocks to give her 390 in her career, tied for 8^th-most in program history.
 
WINNING…Here is a look at the longest winning streaks in program history:
 

Longest WWU Win Streaks:
1.	24	Aug. 29-Nov. 15, 2003
2.	21	Sept. 13-Nov. 30, 2007
3.	20	Aug. 25-Oct. 27, 2001
	20	Sept. 19-Dec. 1, 2017
5.	18	Aug. 25, 2018-current
	18	Sept. 14-Nov. 16, 2002
7.	16	Sept. 5-Oct. 17, 2015
8.	13	Sept. 5-Oct. 9, 2008
9.	12	Oct. 19-Nov. 16, 1990
10.	11	Sept. 24-Oct. 29, 2016

FOLLOW THE VIKS…Fans can follow WWU Volleyball online at WWUVikings.com/VB, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUVolleyball), Instagram (@WWUVB) and Facebook (@WWUVolleyball).
 
WWU LEADERS…
Kills - Harper, (16), Phelps (14), Gunterman (13)
Aces - Boesel (1), Lyall (1)
Blocks - Hall (6), Davenport (5), Gunterman (4)
Assists - Boesel (49)
Digs - Stephens (29), Phelps (21), Davenport (16), Thungc (16)
 
UPDATED GNAC STANDINGS…
 

VOLLEYBALL	CONF	PCT	OVERALL	PCT	HOME	AWAY	NEUTRAL	STREAK
Western Washington	13-0	1.000	18-3	.857	7-0	8-0	3-3	Won 18
Alaska Anchorage	9-4	.692	16-5	.762	8-2	6-2	2-1	Lost 1
Central Washington	9-4	.692	15-5	.750	6-2	6-3	3-0	Won 1
Alaska	8-5	.615	10-10	.500	5-2	3-4	2-4	Won 7
Seattle Pacific	8-5	.615	10-10	.500	5-3	5-3	0-4	Won 3
Simon Fraser	7-6	.538	10-9	.526	5-3	3-3	2-3	Lost 1
Concordia	6-7	.462	9-11	.450	6-4	3-4	0-3	Lost 1
Montana State Billings	4-9	.308	10-12	.455	3-2	3-8	4-2	Won 1
Northwest Nazarene	4-9	.308	4-16	.200	2-7	2-6	0-3	Lost 5
Western Oregon	3-10	.231	6-14	.300	1-7	3-3	2-4	Won 1
Saint Martin's	1-13	.071	3-17	.150	0-6	2-8	1-3	Lost 3