BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University volleyball team makes its first conference road trip of the season, traveling to play Western Oregon and Concordia this week.

 

The Vikings are off to a 10-0 start to the season and ranked No. 2 nationally, garnering five first-place votes in the AVCA Division II Coaches Poll. WWU opened Great Northwest Athletic Conference play last week with a pair of wins in Carver Gym, defeating Northwest Nazarene 3-1 and Central Washington 3-0. 

 

WWU will face Western Oregon (2-7, 0-2 GNAC) on Thursday in Monmouth (7 pm) and Concordia (3-5, 1-1 GNAC) in Portland on Saturday (2 pm). Both matches will feature a webcast and live stats available at GNAC.tv.

 

The Vikings will have a quick turnaround following the Oregon road trip, hosting Simon Fraser on Tuesday in Carver Gym (7 pm).

 

In addition to the 10-0 start to the season and 2-0 mark in conference play, the Vikings have won 40 of their last 41 matches dating back to last season and have won 40 consecutive GNAC matches.

 

"Every trip in the GNAC is tough and presents a unique challenge, whether it be a long bus ride or a flight, so this will be a good learning experience for a lot of our younger players. Our goal remains to get better with each time we take the court, and see how the practice translates into the matches. We are working hard at improving in every facet of the game and excited to get back on the court with these road matches." – 20^th year head coach Diane Flick-Williams.

 

After making its home debut last week on WECU Court in Carver Gym, the Vikings take back to the road for a pair of GNAC contests at Western Oregon (Thursday, 7 pm) and Concordia (Saturday, 2 pm).

 

 

Here are some tidbits on the Vikings:

 

»      Great Start – WWU is 10-0 on the season, the second-best start in program history (13-0 in 2008).

»      Carver Success – Vikings have won their last 33 home matches in Carver Gym.

»      Player of the Week – Calley Heilborn was selected as the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week.

»      National Ranking – WWU is No. 2 in this week's AVCA DII Coaches Poll, the 98^th straight week to be ranked.

»      Five Set Success – WWU is 2-0 in five-set matches this season and 20-4 (.833) since 2015.

»      Freshman Setter – Malia Aleaga leads the GNAC and is 4^th in NCAA II averaging 12.35 assists per set.

»      Team Stats – WWU leads the GNAC in kills per set (14.41) and hitting percentage (.304).

»      NCAA Stats – The Vikings rank 7^th nationally in hitting pct. (.304) and 8^th in blocks (2.45/set).

»      Double Doubles – Calley Heilborn has recorded a double-double (digs/kills) in 8 of 10 matches, while Gabby Gunterman has six double-doubles.

»      Harper's Hitting – Kayleigh Harper leads the GNAC and ranks 13^th in NCAA II with a .428 hitting pct.

»      Roetcisoender – Sounds just like "return to sender", and Chloe Roetcisoender (formerly Chloe Biscup) is averaging 1.00 blocks per set (6^th in the GNAC).

»      Mae Day – Mae Thungc is nearing the 1,000-dig mark for her career, 164 away from hitting the milestone mark.

 

The Vikings have won 32 consecutive matches in Carver Gym dating back to 2014 season (played two seasons at Whatcom CC in 2015-16), including a perfect 13-0 record last season and off to a 2-0 start this year. WWU averaged 752 fans in its 13 home matches last season to rank 7^th among NCAA Division II programs.

 

»      Current 33-match winning streak in Carver Gym dating back to 2014.

»      Went 13-0 in Carver Gym last season, including three wins in the NCAA II West Regional.

»      WWU is 269-81 (.769) all-time in Carver Gym, including 154-15 (.911) under Diane Flick-Williams.

 

WWU is coming off the first 20-win season in GNAC history and has won the last two GNAC championship titles (9 overall in program history). Including the 2-0 start this season, WWU is 41-1 in GNAC play dating back to the 2017 season, and carry a 40-match winning streak in GNAC play into this week.

 

»      Current 40-match GNAC winning streak dating back to 2017 (last loss: 9/16/17 at NNU).

»      Recorded first 20-win season in GNAC history last season.

»      75-7 record in GNAC play over the last five seasons (2015-19).

 

The Vikings went 2-0 last week, opening both the home and GNAC schedule. WWU defeated Northwest Nazarene 3-1 (25-23, 19-25, 25-10, 25-15) and Central Washington 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-18). Sophomore outside hitter Gabby Gunterman led the Vikings averaging 4.00 kills, 4.14 digs and 0.43 blocks per set, recording a double-double in each match. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Calley Heilborn earned GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honors averaging 4.57 digs, 1.14 blocks and 3.00 kills per set.

 

WWU is 10-0 on the season, marking the second-best start in program history trailing only a 13-0 start to the 2008 season. The Vikings were 7-0 to open the 2013 season.

 

Senior All-American middle Kayleigh Harper has passed the 1,000 kills mark for her career, becoming the 14^th player in WWU history to reach that milestone. She is now 9^th in program history with 1,097 career kills and is just 7 blocks short of becoming the second player in both WWU and GNAC history to join the exclusive 1,000-kill, 500-block club.

 

 

Here is a look at the records of the 11 GNAC programs heading into conference play this week. The champion at the end of the regular season receives the conference automatic bid to the NCAA II Championships:

 

 

The Vikings have now won 40 of their last 41 matches dating back to last season. WWU is also 67-8 (.893) dating back to the start of the 2017 season.

 

The WWU volleyball program will host four free youth clinics during the 2019 season, with the final three clinics being held October 12, October 26 and November 2 prior to Saturday home matches. The clinics are from 11:30 am-12:30 pm in Carver Gym on the WWU campus, with check-in starting at 11 am. No pre-registration is required. Free parking is offered in the C lots on the south end of the WWU campus, just a short walk from Carver Gym. All clinic participants will receive a free ticket for the match that night, beginning with Saturday's in-state rivalry match vs. Central Washington with first serve at 7 pm in Carver Gym. The clinic is open to youth ages 8th grade and younger with all ages welcome (free babysitting also offered).

 

 

WWU just completed its sixth consecutive season playing in the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase, going 4-0 in the Pomona Pod. The Vikings have compiled an all-time 21-3 in the tournament, including a current 11-match winning streak in the Showcase. The GNAC is set to host the three-conference tournament in 2020. 

 

The Vikings remained at No. 2 in this week's AVCA Division II Coaches Poll, after being ranked No. 3 in both the preseason and week #1 polls. WWU has now been ranked in 98 consecutive polls dating back to the first week of the 2012 season.

 

The Vikings had three players selected to the 8-member West Florida Invitational All-Tournament Team, with sophomore outside hitter Gabby Gunterman earning tournament MVP honors. Senior middle Kayleigh Harper and redshirt freshman Calley Heilborn were also all-tournament selections helping lead the Vikings to a perfect 4-0 record. Harper and Heilborn were also selected to the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase All-Tournament team, securing two of the four selections from the Pomona Pod. 

 

West Florida/Springhill Suites Invitational All-Tournament Team:

»      Gabby Gunterman - OH (Most Valuable Player)

»      Kayleigh Harper - MB

»      Calley Heilborn - OH

 

D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase Pomona All-Tournament Team

»      Kayleigh Harper - MB

»      Calley Heilborn - OH

 

The Vikings have already had four GNAC Player of the Week selections, with Calley Heilborn (Offense) and Gabby Gunterman (Defense) sweeping the week one awards, Kayleigh Harper taking home offensive honors for week two and Heilborn winning the defensive award for the opening week of GNAC play. Harper now has seven GNAC Player of the Week awards in her career, tied for second-most in conference history behind only former Viking All-American Abby Phelps (8). WWU has had 83 GNAC Player of the Week selections since the first year of the conference in 2001, including a record-tying nine selections in both 2017 and 2018 (WWU All-Time GNAC Players of the Week).

 

 

The Vikings earned GNAC Team of the Week honors after its 4-0 start to the season at the West Florida Invitational. This marks the seventh time the WWU volleyball team has earned the weekly team conference award dating back to the 2012-13 season, including being selected twice during the 2018 season.

 

The 2019 Vikings will look to replace three players that earned AVCA All-America honors last season and a five-member senior class that helped the program to a 107-22 (.829) record over the last four seasons. But the program still returns three starters and nine total letterwinners, and adds six redshirt freshman into the mix. Senior middle Kayleigh Harper is a two-time All-American and a three-time First Team All-GNAC selection, and was selected as the GNAC Preseason Player of the Year. Sophomore outside hitter Gabby Gunterman and senior libero/defensive specialist Mae Thungc were also selected to the 2019 Preseason All-GNAC Team.

 

Coming off a 30-4 season and a national runner-up finish at the NCAA Division II Championships, the Vikings earned its highest preseason ranking in program history checking in at No. 3 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II Preseason Coaches Poll. The No. 3 preseason ranking marks the fifth time Western has been listed in the national top-10 to open a season, joining No. 9 in 2004, No. 10 in 2008, No. 5 in 2016 and last season.

 

The Vikings were selected as a preseason favorite in the 2019 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, gathering 7 of the 11 first-place votes and tied in-state rival Central Washington with 114 total points to headline the list teams predicted to compete for the conference championship. Alaska Anchorage was picked third with 93 points, Simon Fraser fourth with 90 points and Alaska Fairbanks rounded out the top five with 75 points.

 

 

Led by senior middle blocker Kayleigh Harper, the Vikings had three players selected to the 2019 GNAC Preseason All-Conference Team. Harper, a three-time First Team All-GNAC selection, was selected by conference coaches as the Preseason Player of the Year to headline the list of 14 preseason All-GNAC selections. Joining Harper on the preseason all-conference list are senior defensive specialist Mae Thungc and sophomore outside hitter Gabby Gunterman.

 

WWU finished the historic 2018 season with a 30-4 overall record and were a perfect 20-0 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play to win the conference championship for the second consecutive season. The Vikings were selected as the No. 1 seed in the West Region and hosted the NCAA II West Regional Championship in Carver Gym for the first time in program history. WWU defeated rival Cal State San Bernardino in the regional final to advance to the NCAA Elite 8 for the third time in program history. WWU finished the season 30-4 and was the NCAA II National Runner-Up.

 

The Vikings are the two-time defending GNAC champions, combining to go 39-1 over the last two seasons in conference play. WWU became the first conference team to go 20-0 in league play last season, claiming the program's ninth GNAC title.

 

The Vikings have reached the 20-win milestone in each of their last seven seasons and 29 times in the 47-year history of the program. The 30 wins last season tied for 3^rd-most in program history. Head coach Diane Flick-Williams has guided the program to at least 20 wins in 14 of her 19 seasons at the helm of the program. Over the last seven seasons (since 2012, including 2019), WWU has combined to go 185-37 (.833).

 

WWU Volleyball head coach Diane Flick-Williams is in her 20^th season and is the winningest coach in program history and GNAC history. She owns a career record of 434-107 (.802), guiding the Vikings to 14 seasons of 20 or more victories, 13 NCAA Championship appearances (7 consecutive), 3 national tournament appearances (2007, 2015, 2018), 9 GNAC championships and received GNAC Coach of the Year honors 10 times (2001-03, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012-13, 2017-18). Amongst active Division II coaches, she entered the 2019 season ranked 10^th in winning percentage (.798) and 23rd in victories (424). Last year she became the 32nd NCAA II head coach to record 400 career victories.

 

WWU is coming off a seventh consecutive trip to the NCAA II Championships, the 13^th overall in program history. Western advanced to the NCAA National Championship Match for the second time (also in 2007), falling in a five-set thriller to the University of Tampa. The Vikings have advanced to the West Regional Final in each of the last four seasons, including winning regional titles in 2015 (in Anchorage, AK) and last season (in Bellingham). Last season also marked the third appearance in the national tournament (final 8) and second in the last four seasons. Each of WWU's trips to the national tournament has included at least one victory (final 4). WWU is 21-13 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

 

Fans can follow WWU Volleyball online at WWUVikings.com/VB, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUVolleyball), Instagram (@WWUVB) and Facebook (@WWUVolleyball).

 

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. Over the last three seasons (includes 2019) the Vikings have combined to go 67-8 overall and 41-1 in conference play, and over the last five seasons are 117-22 (.842). Led by 20^th-year head coach Diane Flick-Williams, the Vikings have posted a 185-37 record over the last eight seasons (.833 winning percentage) and 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).