SEATTLE, Wash. – The No. 2 nationally-ranked Western Washington University volleyball team completed a perfect 20-0 season in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a thrilling five-set victory at Seattle Pacific on Saturday at Royal Brougham Pavilion.

With the 17-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-20, 15-13 victory over the Falcons, the Vikings improved to 25-3 overall and set the program record extending their winning streak to 25 consecutive matches. WWU also improved to 4-0 in five-set matches this season and is 17-3 (.850) in matches that go the maximum number of sets over the last four seasons.

"We were tested today, like we knew we would be against a good Seattle Pacific team. They had a good game plan and pushed us to the limit," said head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "I am very proud of the fight in this team tonight and how they trusted their training. They finished what they started with the perfect record in conference play and that is a tremendous accomplishment."

The Vikings will now find out if they will host or go on the road for the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championships, with the selection show airing at 7 pm PT on NCAA.com. The No. 1 seeds and eight host sites in the 64-team field will be announced starting at 6 pm via NCAA Division II social media channels.

"We are ready for the postseason, whatever circumstances that may be," said Flick-Williams. "We've done everything we can to this point and very excited for the challenges that are ahead of us."

WWU was tested from the beginning dropping the opening set 25-17, snapping a string of 20 consecutive set victories. But WWU bounced back with a 25-22 second-set win to even things up. After SPU took the third set 26-24, the Vikings pushed the match to the deciding fifth set winning the fourth stanza 25-20.

In the final set, the Vikings won the race to the eighth point, 8-7, when the benches switched sides. The back-and-forth action produced ties at 8-8, 9-9, 11-11 and 12-12, before the Falcons went up 13-12. Western won the next three points on back-to-back kills by junior middle Kayleigh Harper and a service ace by sophomore outside hitter Alison Davenport to seal the victory.

"We had players step up when we needed it, with Taylor (Lyall) and Alison (Davenport) really serving well late in the match," commented Flick-Williams. "Kayleigh (Harper) was tough down the stretch and Brette (Boesel) was a warrior out there leading out team."

Harper (Oak Harbor, WA) and senior All-American Abby Phelps (Manson, WA/Chelan) tied for the team lead with 15 kills, with each contributing 3 kills in the final set. Harper added 10.0 blocks for a team-high 21.0 points and Phelps recorded her 23^rd double-double of the season with 18 digs.

Senior libero Aubrey Stephens (Colville, WA) led the Vikings with 28 digs, while senior setter Brette Boesel (Brewster, WA) had 42 assists. Senior Taylor Lyall (Bellingham, WA/Sehome) and sophomore Alison Davenport (Auburn, WA/Auburn Mountainview) recorded a pair of service aces each.

SPU was led by 32 kills by Gabby Oddo and 55 assists from Symone Tran. The Falcons ended their season 11-16 overall and 9-11 in GNAC play.

The Vikings became the sixth team in GNAC Volleyball history to go undefeated in conference play, and the first in the current 20-match format…WWU was 18-0 in GNAC play in three consecutive seasons from 2001-03 as part of a league record 57-match winning streak…Central Washington (18-0 in 2004) and SPU (16-0 in 2006) also had perfect conference seasons.

The Vikings (25-3, 20-0 GNAC) will now wait for the NCAA Division II Volleyball Selection Show that airs at 7 pm Sunday night on NCAA.com, with the No. 1 seeds from the eight regions in NCAA Division II announced starting at 6 pm via social media. WWU will be playing in its seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament and 13^th overall in program history since joining the Division II ranks in 1998.

Kills - Phelps (15), Harper (15), Hall (9)

Aces - Davenport (2), Lyall (2), Thungc (1)

Blocks - Harper (10), Phelps (3), Davenport (3)

Assists - Boesel (42)

Digs - Stephens (28), Phelps (18), Davenport (17)

WWU extended winning streaks of 25 matches this season and 38 consecutive GNAC victories (dating back to last season)…during the 25-match winning streak, the Vikings have won 75 of 87 sets and recorded 17 sweeps…25 consecutive wins sets the program record, breaking the old mark of 24 straight from Aug. 29-Nov. 15, 2003…here is a look at the longest winning streaks in program history:

Fans can follow WWU Volleyball online at WWUVikings.com/VB, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUVolleyball),Instagram (@WWUVB) and Facebook (@WWUVolleyball).

-- @WWUVolleyball --