BURNABY, BC – For the eighth consecutive season, the Western Washington University volleyball program has reached a remarkable milestone recording its 20^th win of the season with a 3-1 victory over Simon Fraser University Tuesday night in West Gym.

The No. 5 nationally-ranked Vikings improved to 20-1 overall and kept firm grasp on first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference at 12-1 with the 25-22, 15-25, 26-16, 25-11 victory over the third-place Clan (13-8, 9-4 GNAC). SFU had its seven-match winning streak snapped while enduring the season sweep to the Vikings.

WWU has now recorded at least 20 wins in every season since 2012, with the program combining for a 195-38 record during the eight-season streak. Over the last three seasons, the Vikings are a combined 77-9 for a .895 winning percentage with a 51-2 mark in GNAC contests over that span (2017-19).

"I am so proud of this team and how they stayed composed after dropping the second set," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "Malia (Aleaga) set a great offense tonight, spreading the ball around and putting our hitters in good positions. And our servers did a great job putting pressure on their serve receive, setting up great defensive opportunities."

The Vikings received several outstanding performances in the victory, with sophomore outside hitterGabby Gunterman recording a 16-kill, 16-dig double-double and redshirt freshman Calley Heilborn adding a 15-kill, 14-dig double-double. Gunterman recorded her big performance with a .324 hitting percentage, and added one ace and 4.0 blocks for a match-high 19.5 points.

Sophomore opposite Tess Biscup continued her solid play in conference matches, tallying 9 kills, and twin sister middle blocker Chloe Roetcisoender recorded a team-high 6.0 blocks to go along with 6 kills.

Redshirt freshman setter Malia Aleaga also recorded a double-double with 48 assists and 12 digs. Junior Alison Davenport recorded three of the Vikings five service aces. 

Senior libero Mae Thungc led five Vikings in double-digits in digs with a match-high 19 digs. Thungc continues to inch towards the 1,000-dig mark for her career, now 34 short with 966 career digs. WWU's 80 digs against SFU were a season high for a match.

SFU was led by an 18-kill, 15-dig double-double by Betsie de Beer and 18 digs by Bianca Te.

Kills - Gunterman (16), Heilborn (15), Biscup (9)

Aces - Davenport (3), Heilborn (1), Gunterman (1)

Blocks - Roetcisoender (6), Gunterman (4), Aleaga (2)

Assists - Aleaga (48), Lologo (4)

Digs - Thungc (19), Gunterman (16), Lologo (15), Heilborn (14)

Points - Gunterman (19.5), Heilborn (16.5), Biscup (10.0), Roetcisoender (9.0)

The Vikings (20-1, 12-1 GNAC) returns home to Montana State Billings on Saturday (Nov. 3) at 7 pm on WECU Court in Carver Gym. WWU takes a 38-match Carver Gym winning streak into the contest vs. MSUB.

WWU has reached the 20-win mark for the eighth consecutive season and for the 30^th time in the 48-year history of the program. During the string of consecutive 20-win seasons, which started in 2012, the program has recorded a 195-38 record for a .837 winning percentage. Head coach Diane Flick-Williams has guided the program to at least 20 wins now in 15 of her 20 seasons at the helm of the program.

Senior Kayleigh Harper recorded 7 kills on a .353 hitting percentage to move into 6^th place in WWU history with 1,185 career kills. Harper passed Tanya Price on the all-time kills list, who had 1,184 kills in four seasons from 1995-98. Harper is 13 kills short of the top 5, with Shannon Rowland holding the 5^th spot with 1,198 career kills.

WWU swept the season series vs. Simon Fraser, also winning 3-1 in Bellingham on Oct. 1. The Vikings extended its winning streak over the Clan to seven consecutive matches and have won 19 of the last 20 in the series. WWU leads the all-time series 68-34.

Here is an early look at the GNAC standings through matches played on Tuesday:

The Vikings are 50-2 over their last 52 matches dating back to the start of the 2018 season and 77-9 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 20^th-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 2018).