PENSACOLA, Fla. – The No. 3 nationally-ranked Western Washington University volleyball program improved to 2-0 on the season defeating No. 13 Wheeling University 3-1 Friday afternoon at the second day of the Springhill Suites Invitational on the campus of West Florida University.
WWU defeated the Cardinals 26-24, 19-25, 25-19, 25-21 to record its second consecutive season over a ranked opponent to open the season. The Vikings opened the season Thursday night with a 3-2 victory over No. 24 and tournament host West Florida.
"This was a great team effort as each player on the court made key plays at critical times," said 20th-year head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "We still have a lot of learning to accomplish and things to clean up on our side, but I am proud of how they kept at it throughout the match."
Senior All-American middle Kayleigh Harper (Oak Harbor, WA) contributed a team-high 18.5 points, recording 13 kills and 9 blocks for the Vikings.
Sophomore outside hitter Gabby Gunterman (Lake Stevens, WA) continued the torrid start to her season with 16 kills (.294 attack pct.) and a career-high 25 digs. In two matches, Gunterman has a pair of double-doubles and is averaging 3.67 kills and 4.44 digs per set.
Redshirt freshman setter Malia Aleaga (Burien, WA/Kennedy) spread the ball around with 54 assists, with five players recording at least 9 kills. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Calley Heilborn (Auburn, WA/Auburn Riverside) added a career-high 13 kills and junior outside Alison Davenport (Auburn, WA/Auburn Mountainview) had 9 kills and 4 blocks. Sophomore middle Chloe Roetcisoender (Duvall, WA/Cedar Park Christian) recorded career-highs with 9 kills and 4 block assists.
"Gabby has been real strong at the net and Malia (Aleaga) is getting a good feel for our offense," added Flick-Williams.
In a match featuring a pair of NCAA Championship Tournament squads from a year ago, Wheeling suffered its first defeat of the young season after sweeping Florida Tech earlier in the morning. Breanna Kramer had 16 kills and 11 digs and Cassie Meyer recorded 14 kills and 8 digs.
WWU out-blocked WU 13.0 to 4.0 and held a .240 to .214 advantage in hitting percentage.
The evenly-played match featured 30 tie scores and 30 lead changes in the four-set match, including 11 ties in the first set. WWU trailed 24-22 in the opening set, but went on a 4-0 run to go up 1-0 in the match.
The Vikings (2-0) return to action this evening with their third match in the Springhill Suites Invitational with a 7 pm CT/5 pm PT contest vs. Spring Hill College. The match can be viewed live online atWWUVikings.com/VB_Watch. WWU's four-match trip to Pensacola concludes Saturday against Florida Tech at 12:30 pm CT/10:30 am PT.
Kills - Gunterman (16), Harper (13), Heilborn (13)
Aces - Aleaga (1), Heilborn (1), Gunterman (1)
Blocks - Harper (9), Davenport (4), Roetcisoender (4)
Assists - Aleaga (54), Lologo (3), Davenport (1)
Digs - Gunterman (25), Thungc (14), Lologo (8)
Points - Harper (18.5), Gunterman (17.5), Heilborn (14.5)
After playing the first eight matches of the 2019 season on the road, the Vikings will make their official Carver Gym debut when they host Northwest Nazarene on WECU Court on Thursday, September 19 with first serve scheduled for 7 pm. The complete 2019 season schedule and additional information on the program can be viewed at WWUVikings.com/VB.
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. Over the last three seasons (since start of 2017) the Vikings have combined to go 59-8 overall and 39-1 in conference play, and over the last five seasons are 109-22 (.832). Led by 20th-year head coachDiane Flick-Williams, the Vikings have posted a 177-37 record over the last eight seasons (.827 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).
