PENSACOLA, Fla. – The No. 5-ranked Western Washington University volleyball team continues its tough stretch of matches to open the 2018 season, falling to No. 7-ranked Regis Saturday morning in four sets during the second day of the West Florida Invitational at the UWF Field House.
 
The Vikings dropped to 0-3 on the season with the 20-25, 25-19, 21-25, 20-25 loss to the Rangers. All three of WWU's defeats this season have come against ranked opponents – No. 2 Southwest Minnesota State, No. 7 Regis and No. 24 Wheeling Jesuit.
 
"Our middles were very good this match and really moved the ball around well," said head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "We are getting pieces here and there, we just need to put them together and sustain it."
 
Junior middle Kayleigh Harper (Oak Harbor, WA) tallied 11 kills on a .296 hitting percentage, and added 3 block assists to tie for the team lead with 12.5 points. Senior middle Michaela Hall (Centralia, WA) added 8 kills on a .333 attack percentage (8 kills, 2 errors, 18 attacks).
 
Senior outside hitter Abby Phelps (Manson, WA/Chelan) recorded her second double-double of the season with 11 kills and a match-high 20 digs. Her 11 kills increased her career total to 1,186, moving into 5^th place in WWU history passing Tanya Price (1,184, 1995-98).
 
Sophomore outside hitter Alison Davenport (Auburn, WA/Auburn Riverside) recorded career-highs with 8 kills, 4 blocks, 10 digs and a pair of service aces for 12.5 total points.
 
Regis sophomore outside hitter Caitlyn Burroway led all players with 14 kills, also totaling the double-double with 17 digs. Junior outside hitter Kelsey Green added 13 kills and junior middle Nikki Kennedy had 10 kills, 4 aces and 5 blocks for a match-high 17.0 points.
 
WWU dropped the opening set 25-20, with Regis closing out the set on a 5-1 run after the Vikings were within one point at 20-19.
 
The Vikings evened the match at 1-1 with a 25-19 second-set victory. Western built a sizeable lead at 20-14, held off a 4-0 Regis run to close the gap to 20-18, and then ended the set on a 5-1 run.
 
The third set featured 11 ties and 4 lead changes, but Regis pulled away late for the 25-21 victory. With the set tied 15-15, the Rangers went on a 5-2 run to build a 20-17 lead and would not turn back to go up 2-1 in the match.
 
Regis took control of the fourth set early, building a 15-7 lead, but the Vikings answered with a 7-3 run to pull to within 4 points at 18-14 to force a Regis timeout. The Rangers came out of the timeout on a 3-0 run to increase their lead to 21-14, and then held off a late Viking rally for the 25-20 win.
 
The Vikings return to the court this afternoon to close out the West Florida Invitational, taking on tournament host No. 15 West Florida at 2:30 pm PT/4:30 pm CT. The match vs. the Argonauts can be followed via a live webcast and live stats with links available at WWUVikings.com/Live.
 
WWU CAREER KILL LEADERS…Abby Phelps moved into 5^th place in WWU history with 1,186 career kills, passing Tanya Price (1,184)…next up is Shannon Rowland who recorded 1,198 kills from 1999-02…Phelps also moved into 20^th place in GNAC history.
 

WWU ALL-TIME CAREER KILLS
1.	1,379	Meghan Evoy (.320)	2001-04
2.	1,354	Marlayna Geary (.237)	2009-12
3.	1,228	Gretchen Haakenson	1990-93
4.	1,198	Shannon Rowland	1999-02
5.	1,186	Abby Phelps	2015-Current
6.	1,184	Tanya Price	1995-98
7.	1,174	Lorrie Post	1987-90
8.	1,098	Chrissy Sursely	1993-96
9.	1,078	Tiana Roma	2004-08
10.	1,028	Jaime Anderson	2003-07

 
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 – Phelps (11), Harper (11), Hall (8), Davenport (8)
Service Aces – Davenport (2), Phelps (1), Payne (1)
Blocks – Davenport (4), Harper (3), Phelps (1), Hall (1)
Assists – Boesel (32)
Digs – Phelps (20), Stephens (14), Davenport (10)