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ABOUT THE VIKINGS…the No. 12-ranked WWU volleyball team heads into Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with its home opener this week on WECU Court in Carver Gym…the Vikings finished non-conference play with a 5-3 record, facing one of the nation's toughest schedules…WWU has a current 5-match winning streak and has won 11 of its last 12 sets.
 
ABOUT LAST WEEK…went 4-0 at the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase with wins over #9 Cal State San Bernardino (3-2), tournament host Azusa Pacific (3-0), Sonoma State (3-1) and Biola (3-0)…Abby Phelps (4.33 kills/set, 4.87 digs/set, 74.5 points) and Kayleigh Harper (3.40 kills/set, .355 pct., 1.87 blocks/set) were named to the All-Tournament team…WWU is now 17-3 all-time in the D2 West Region Showcase going 3-1 in 2014, 4-0 in 2015, 3-1 in 2016, and 3-1 in 2017.
 
PROMOTIONS…Thursday's home opener will feature a $4 ticket special for all fans...Saturday is Back to School Night with all kids ages 13-and-under receiving free admission to the match...there will be a free youth volleyball clinic in Carver Gym from 11:30 am-12:30 pm.

GNAC OPENER…WWU's remaining 20 matches in the 2018 regular season will all come in GNAC play…the Vikings have won their last 18 conference matches after going 19-1 in league play last season (10-0 at home)…over last six seasons (2012-17), WWU is 99-15 (.868) in GNAC play.

WWU Volleyball | Schedule | Roster | 2018 Statistics | Career Statistics | Quick Facts | WWU Volleyball History
AVCA Division II Poll | GNAC Standings | GNAC Stats | #GNACVB

HOW TO FOLLOW…all GNAC matches will stream live and feature live stats at GNAC.tv…in addition to being available online, all conference matches are available via the GNAC channel on Roku, Apple TV, Android TV and Amazon Fire TV…live links can be accessed through WWUVikings.com/Live.
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK SWEEP…Abby Phelps (offense) and Kayleigh Harper (defense) swept this week's GNAC Volleyball Player of the Week awards…marked the sixth GNAC weekly honor for Phelps, tying the program record with Samantha Hutchinson, Kayla Erickson and Marlayna Geary.

HOME SWEET HOME…the Vikings make their home debut this week with a pair of matches on WECU Court in Carver Gym…went 10-0 at home last season, returning to Carver Gym after a two-year renovation was completed…carry a 15-match Carver Gym winning streak into the 2018 season…Diane Flick-Williams has led the program to a 140-15 (.903) record inside Carver Gym.
 
ALL AROUND ABBY…senior Abby Phelps has recorded a double-double in 7 of 8 matches this season…leads the team in kills (4.00/set), digs (4.60/set) and points (4.45/set)…coming off a junior season in which she was named the 2017 GNAC Player of the Year and was a First Team AVCA All-American after averaging 4.31 kills (WWU record) and 4.81 digs per set…in 101 career matches, Phelps has tallied 62 double-doubles…she heads into this week's matches ranked 3^rd in WWU history and 12^th in GNAC history with 1,275 career kills.
     
WHAT RETURNS...the Vikings return 5 starters plus the leading libero from last year's squad that finished 27-4 overall and won the GNAC Championship with a 19-1 league record…overall WWU returns 10 players from last year's team that played for the West Region championship and ended the season ranked No. 7 in the nation.
 
THE RANKINGS…WWU jumped from No. 15 to No. 12 after the 4-0 performance at the D2 West Region Showcase…were ranked No. 5 in the preseason poll, tying for the highest preseason ranking in program history…the Vikings have now been ranked in 83 consecutive AVCA polls dating back to the first regular-season poll of the 2012 season…WWU is 23^rd all-time in AVCA Division II poll history appearing in the national poll 164 times and 28^th appearing in the top 10 in 61 polls.
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW…

• Block U – Averaging 2.63 blocks/set to rank 2^nd in the GNAC and 6^th in NCAA II (3^rd in NCAA II last season).
• GNAC History – Abby Phelps is 12^th in GNAC history in kills (1,275) and 16^th in digs (1,516).
• Double-Doubles – Abby Phelps has 7 double-doubles this season, and 62 in 101 career matches.
• Set It – Brette Boesel is 2^nd in the GNAC averaging 10.87 assists per set (326 assists are most in the league).
• The Last 7 – WWU is 150-36 (.806) over the last seven seasons since 2012 (99-15/.868 in GNAC play).
• 2017 GNAC Champions – WWU claimed its 8^th GNAC Championship (7^th outright) with a 19-1 league record.

SERIES HISTORY…here is a look at the series history between WWU and this week's opponents:

• Seattle Pacific (2-5): WWU owns a 48-26 lead in the all-time series, with a current 8-match winning streak…went 2-0 vs. the Falcons last season, winning in straight sets in Bellingham (10/14/17) and in five sets in Seattle (11/9/17)…last loss to SPU came 10/24/13…WWU has won 12 of the last 13 dating back to 2011.
• Saint Martin's (2-4): WWU leads the all-time series 59-5, including a current 38-match winning streak…swept the Saints twice last season and have won 48 of last 49 sets in the series (since 2010)…last loss to SMU came 10/30/98 in Bellingham.

 WELCOME BACK KAYLEIGH…middle Kayleigh Harper returns to the court in 2018 for her junior season after sitting out 2017…Harper is a two-time First Team All-GNAC selection (2015-16) and was an honorable mention All-America selection in 2016…through the first eight matches of the season she leads the GNAC with 1.50 blocks per set, and is also tied for 8^th in kills (3.00/set), 4^th in points (3.90/set) and 5^th in hitting percentage (.308)…in 72 career matches she is averaging 1.28 blocks per set, the top average in program history (min. 200 sets).
 
HALL OF BLOCKS…senior middle Michaela Hall is averaging 0.97 blocks per set this season, 9^th amongst GNAC leaders…in 103 career matches (367 sets), Hall has recorded 339 total blocks, 10^th-best in WWU history and 20^th in GNAC history.

  SETTING IT UP…senior setter Brette Boesel is 2^nd in the GNAC averaging 10.87 assists per set…listed 3^rd in WWU and 16^th in GNAC history with 3,255 career assists (8.87/set)…she is 4 service aces shy of becoming the 22^nd player in program history to record 100 aces.
     
PRESEASON GNAC POLL…the Vikings received all 11 first-place votes and topped the 2018 GNAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll with the maximum number of 121 total points…Central Washington was picked second with 106 votes, followed by Simon Fraser (91 points) in third and Alaska Anchorage and Northwest Nazarene (82 points) tied for fourth.
 
PRESEASON ALL-GNAC…led by GNAC Preseason Player of the Year Abby Phelps, three Vikings were named to the 2018 GNAC Preseason All-Conference Team…senior setter Brette Boesel and senior middle Michaela Hall were also selected to the team after all three were all-conference selections in 2017.
 
TOUGH SCHEDULE…each of WWU's 8 non-conference matches were played against teams that appeared in the AVCA DII Preseason Poll, with five ranked teams and three additional schools receiving votes…overall, 7 of the Vikings 28 regular-season matches will come against teams listed in the preseason top 25 and 14 total matches against teams that were listed in the top 25 or receiving votes…7 of the 8 non-conference matches came against teams that played in the 2017 NCAA II Championships…WWU finished last season with the 4^th-toughest schedule in NCAA II.
 
NCAA HISTORY…WWU advanced to the West Regional Final for the third consecutive season last year, marking the program's 12th appearance in the NCAA Division II West Regional and 6th consecutive trip to the postseason…set the program record with a fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA II Tournament in 2015 when it advanced to the NCAA II Elite 8 (and Final Four)…WWU is 16-12 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and is one of two GNAC schools to win a West Regional title.
 
ANOTHER 20-WIN SEASON…WWU recorded 27 wins last season to tie for 5^th-most in program history…sixth consecutive 20-win season and 28^th in the 46-year history of the program…head coach Diane Flick-Williams has guided the program to at least 20 wins in 13 of her 18 seasons at the helm of the program…over the last seven seasons (since 2012), WWU has combined to go 150-36 (.806), advancing to the NCAA Tournament in each season (2012-17).
 
COACH FLICK-WILLIAMS…Diane Flick-Williams is in her 19^th season directing the WWU volleyball program and is the winningest coach in program history…owns a career record of 399-106 (.790), guiding the Vikings to 13 seasons of 20 or more victories, 12 NCAA Championship appearances, a pair Final Four appearances, 8 Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships and received GNAC Coach of the Year honors 9 times (2001-03, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012-13, 2017)…amongst active Division II coaches, she entered the 2018 season ranked 13^th in winning percentage and 33^rd by victories…her .793 winning percentage heading into the 2018 season is 11^th-best in Division II history (min. 10 years as a DII head coach)…Flick-Williams is one win away from becoming the 32^nd DII coach to record 400 career victories.
 
2017 SEASON IN REVIEW…finished the 2017 season 27-4 overall and advanced to the NCAA II West Region Championship for the third consecutive season…Great Northwest Athletic Conference champions with a 19-1 league record, winning the eighth GNAC title in program history…tied GNAC record for conference wins in a season (UAA in 2016)…made sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships (12th overall)…ranked No. 7 in the AVCA/Division II Coaches Poll for the 3^rd-highest end of season ranking in program history (No. 2 in 2007, No. 6 in 2015).