BILLINGS, Mont. – Playing its fourth match in nine days, in three different states, the No. 2 nationally-ranked Western Washington Vikings faced a major test while defeating Montana State Billings in four sets Friday evening in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action inside Alterowitz Gym.
 
The Vikings dropped the opening set 25-12, but battled back to win the next three 25-21, 25-20 and 28-26 to remain perfect on the season at 14-0 overall and kept a grasp on first place in the GNAC with a 6-0 record. MSUB dropped to 4-10 overall and 2-3 in league play, while losing its first home match of the season.
 
With the victory, WWU has set a record for the best start to a season at 14-0 overall, bettering the 13-0 mark to open the 2008 season. Additionally, the Vikings have won their last 44 GNAC matches and have won 44 of their last 45 matches dating back to last season.
 
The road-weary Vikings played a pair of matches in Oregon last week, hosted Simon Fraser in Carver Gym on Tuesday and traveled to Montana yesterday for tonight's match. The Vikings 14-0 record this season features four wins in Florida, four wins in California, two wins in Oregon, one win in Montana and a 3-0 record in Bellingham.

"Any GNAC win is a good win, especially on the road. Billings played a great match and we had to find a way to match them," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "Tess (Biscup) did a great job coming into the match providing a much-needed spark swinging for some big points and Calley (Heilborn) took over at the end."

Sophomore pin hitter Tess Biscup came off the bench to provide a career-high 13 kills on a .600 hitting percentage, playing in the final three sets.
 
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Calley Heilborn recorded her 11^th double-double with 14 kills and 17 digs, while recording a .406 hitting percentage. Heilborn also one service ace and 6 blocks for 19.5 total points.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Gabby Gunterman (12 kills, 15 digs) and redshirt freshman setter Malia Aleaga (52 assists, 10 digs) also reached double-double territory in the four-set match.
 
The Vikings were limited to a .235 hitting percentage, well below their season average of .287 entering the match (5^th in NCAA II). WWU out-blocked MSUB 10.0-9.0 and held a slight edge in digs 66-62. The match featured 19 ties and seven lead changes.
 
MSUB had three players reach double-digits in kills, led by 14 from Maddi Vigil and 12 from Bayli Monck.
  
The Vikings (14-0, 6-0 GNAC) return home for a pair of conference matches next week hosting Saint Martin's on Thursday and Seattle Pacific on Saturday, with both matches starting at 7 pm on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
 
SET 1 (MSUB 25, WWU 12): The Vikings fell behind early 7-3, and despite a 3-0 run to climb to within one point, it was MSUB's set from the start winning 25-12 behind a .444 attack percentage and four service aces. WWU hit just .156 in the opening frame with six attack errors. .
 
SET 2 (WWU 25, MSUB 21): WWU answered with a 25-21 second-set victory to even the match 1-1. The Vikings led early 12-9, but a 6-1 run by the Yellowjackets erased the deficit and gave MSUB a two-point advantage at 15-13. WWU and MSUB went point-for-point with ties at 15-15, 16-16 and 17-17, before the Vikings went on a 4-0 run to lead 21-18. Western finished the set on an 8-3 run to even things up.
 
SET 3 (WWU 25, MSUB 20): The Vikings went up 2-1 in the match with a 25-20 third-set victory. MSUB pulled ahead early using a 4-0 run to go up 9-9, but the Vikings answered with a 3-0 run of their own to build a 12-10 advantage. Leading 13-12, the Vikings used a 6-1 run to pull away at 19-13, but MSUB rallied to pull to within three points at 19-16 coming out of its timeout. WWU closed things out with Tess Biscup providing the set-winning point with her seventh kill of the set.
 
SET 4 (WWU 28, MSUB 26): The Vikings battled from behind most of the fourth set, before rallying at the end to end the match with a 28-26 win. MSUB led by as many as seven points at 18-11, but the Vikings climbed back into the set with a 12-4 run to pull even for the first time at 23-23. The Yellowjackets had a set point leading 24-23, but the Vikings pulled even and took the lead at 25-24. On its third attempt at match point, Calley Heilborn recorded a huge block to send the Vikings to their 14^th victory of the season.
  The Vikings (14-0, 6-0 GNAC) return home playing four of their next six matches on WECU Court in Carver Gym. WWU hosts Saint Martin's next Thursday and Seattle Pacific on Saturday, with both matches featuring 7 pm first serve in Carver Gym.
  The Vikings have won their last 44 conference matches dating back to the beginning of the GNAC slate in 2017, which included a perfect 20-0 record last season and a 6-0 start in 2019. WWU is 45-1 in GNAC play dating back to the start of the 2017 season and has a current 44-match winning streak in league play. The conference record for longest winning streak in GNAC play is a 57-match winning streak by WWU from 2001-04.
  WWU improved to 27-1 all-time vs. Montana State Billings, including a current 10-match winning streak. Friday's victory improved WWU to 12-1 all-time in Alterowitz Gym, with the only setback being a five-set loss in 2014.
  Here is an early look at the GNAC standings through matches played on Friday:
 

VOLLEYBALL	CONF	PCT	OVERALL	PCT	HOME	AWAY	NEUTRAL	STREAK
Western Washington	6-0	1.000	14-0	1.000	3-0	4-0	7-0	Won 14
Alaska Anchorage	4-1	.800	9-4	.692	4-2	2-2	3-0	Won 2
Alaska	4-1	.800	7-6	.538	2-1	2-2	3-3	Lost 1
Central Washington	3-2	.600	8-5	.615	2-0	2-3	4-2	Lost 1
Concordia	3-2	.600	5-7	.417	2-4	1-2	2-1	Won 1
Montana State Billings	2-3	.400	4-10	.286	2-1	1-4	1-5	Lost 3
Northwest Nazarene	2-3	.400	6-6	.500	1-1	2-3	3-2	Won 1
Simon Fraser	2-3	.400	6-7	.462	1-1	2-3	3-3	Lost 1
Seattle Pacific	1-4	.200	4-9	.308	0-3	2-2	2-4	Lost 1
Western Oregon	1-4	.200	3-9	.250	0-2	1-3	2-4	Won 1
Saint Martin's	0-5	.000	0-14	.000	0-3	0-4	0-7	Lost 14
Friday's Results: Western Washington 3, Montana State Billings 1

  WWU is 14-0 on the season, setting the record for the best start to a season in program history. Passed the old mark of a 13-0 start in 2008. Both this season and the 2008 season follow NCAA II national runner-up finishes by the Vikings.
  The Vikings have now won 44 of their last 45 matches dating back to last season. WWU is also 71-8 (.899) dating back to the start of the 2017 season.
  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 2015).