ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The No. 2 nationally-ranked Western Washington University volleyball team was dealt its first loss of the season, falling in four sets Saturday night to Great Northwest Athletic Conference rival Alaska Anchorage in the Alaska Airlines Center.
Game scores were 19-25, 25-19, 20-25, 24-26 in favor of the Seawolves. WWU entered the match as one of four unbeaten teams in NCAA Division II, but dropped its first match of the season to move to 17-1 overall. The loss also snapped a 47-match GNAC winning streak dating back to the 2017 season.
"Anchorage did a great job tonight and deserve a lot of credit," said 20th-year WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "We didn't bring our best tonight, which is required against a good team like this."
WWU remains in first place in the GNAC standings through the first half of the conference schedule, with UAA (13-5 overall, 8-2) one match back of the Vikings. The Vikings are the two-time defending GNAC champions, with the Seawolves winning the league title in 2015 and 2016.
"I am really proud of this group for starting the first half of the conference season at 9-1," added Flick-Williams. "We have more to learn and grow from, and we are looking forward to getting back to work next week and prepare for the matches vs. Concordia and Western Oregon."
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Calley Heilborn led the Vikings with a 16-kill, 17-dig double-double, her team-leading 12th of the season.
Senior middle Kayleigh Harper added 10 kills and 6 block assists for 13.0 points. Sophomore outside hitter Gabby Gunterman neared double-double territory with 9 kills and 15 digs. Senior libero Mae Thungc added 17 digs to tie for the match high. Redshirt freshman Malia Aleaga tallied 37 assists, 3 blocks and a pair of service aces.
UAA was led by a career-high 18 kills from Vanessa Hayes and a 45-assist, 12-dig double-double from setter Ellen Floyd.
Trailing 2-1 in the match, the Vikings looked to be on track to force a decisive fifth set, but UAA stormed back for the 3-1 victory. WWU led the fourth set early 11-3, but UAA battled back to eventually tie the set at 23-23. Looking to test their 2-0 record in fifth sets this season, the Vikings appeared to take a 25-24 lead, but an instant replay review overturned a call to give UAA the one-point advantage. Hannah Pembroke sealed the Seawolves win with her eighth kill of the match.
Kills - Heilborn (16), Harper (10), Gunterman (9)
Aces - Aleaga (2), Thungc (2), Heilborn (1)
Blocks - Harper (6), Aleaga (3), Roetcisoender (3)
Assists - Aleaga (37), Thungc (4), Lologo (3)
Digs - Heilborn (17), Thungc (17), Gunterman (15)
Points - Heilborn (17.0), Harper (13.0), Gunterman (10.0), Roetcisoender (9.5)
The Vikings (17-1, 9-1 GNAC) return to Carver Gym for three of their next four matches, hosting Concordia (7-10, 5-5) on Thursday and Western Oregon (3-14, 1-9) on Saturday. Both matches begin at 7 pm on WECU Court, with tickets available for pre-purchase online at WWUVikings.com/VB_Tickets.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. ALASKA ANCHORAGE
Saturday's loss at UAA snapped a 5-match winning streak by the Vikings over the Seawolves. WWU continues to lead the all-time series 36-18, with an updated record of 20-10 in matches played in Anchorage. WWU has won 7 of the last 8 vs. UAA in Anchorage, and tonight was the first loss in six GNAC contests vs. UAA in the Alaska Airlines Center.
Here is an early look at the GNAC standings through matches played on Saturday:
|
VOLLEYBALL
|
CONF
|
PCT
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
Western Washington
|
9-1
|
.900
|
17-1
|
.944
|
5-0
|
5-1
|
7-0
|
Lost 1
|
|
Alaska Anchorage
|
8-2
|
.800
|
13-5
|
.722
|
6-3
|
4-2
|
3-0
|
Won 1
|
|
Simon Fraser
|
7-3
|
.700
|
11-7
|
.611
|
3-1
|
5-3
|
3-3
|
Won 5
|
|
Central Washington
|
6-4
|
.600
|
11-7
|
.611
|
5-1
|
2-4
|
4-2
|
Won 3
|
|
Alaska
|
6-4
|
.600
|
9-9
|
.500
|
3-3
|
3-3
|
3-3
|
Lost 3
|
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
5-5
|
.500
|
9-8
|
.529
|
3-2
|
3-4
|
3-2
|
Won 2
|
|
Concordia
|
5-5
|
.500
|
7-10
|
.412
|
3-5
|
2-4
|
2-1
|
Lost 2
|
|
Seattle Pacific
|
4-6
|
.400
|
7-11
|
.389
|
1-3
|
4-4
|
2-4
|
Won 2
|
|
Montana State Billings
|
4-6
|
.400
|
6-13
|
.316
|
3-3
|
2-5
|
1-5
|
Lost 1
|
|
Western Oregon
|
1-9
|
.100
|
3-14
|
.176
|
0-4
|
1-6
|
2-4
|
Lost 5
|
|
Saint Martin's
|
0-10
|
.000
|
0-19
|
.000
|
0-5
|
0-7
|
0-7
|
Lost 19
|
|
Saturday's GNAC Results:
Seattle Pacific 3, Montana State Billings 1
Alaska Anchorage 3, Western Washington 1
Central Washington 3, Concordia 0
Simon Fraser 3, Alaska Fairbanks 2
Northwest Nazarene 3, Western Oregon 0
Home team in bold
|
Despite Saturday's loss, the Vikings are still 47-2 over their last 49 matches dating back to the start of the 2018 season and 74-9 since the beginning of the 2017 campaign.
Fans can follow WWU Volleyball online at WWUVikings.com/VB, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUVolleyball), Instagram (@WWUVB) and Facebook (@WWUVolleyball). All home matches feature a live webcast, as well as most road matches, with links on how to follow the games available at WWUVikings.com/Live.
The WWU volleyball program has risen to elite level by advancing to the NCAA Division II Championships in each of the last seven seasons and 13 of the last 18 dating back to the 2001 season. The winner of nine Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships, Western won the 2018 GNAC title with a perfect 20-0 record and the 2017 championship by posting a 19-1 league. Led by 20th-year head coach Diane Flick-Williams, the Vikings have played in the NCAA II West Region championship match each of the last four seasons (2015-18), winning titles in 2015 and 2018. WWU played for the NCAA II national championship in 2007 and 2018, both national runner-up finishes, have advanced to the NCAA Final Four in two of the past four seasons (2015 and 2015).
