PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Western Washington University volleyball team continued its perfect start to the 2019 season defeating Spring Hill College 3-1 on Friday evening at the Springhill Suites Invitational on the University of West Florida Campus.
The Vikings defeated the Badgers 16-25, 25-15, 25-17, 25-16 to improve to 3-0 on the season, with a pair of wins coming against ranked opponents and all three opponents appearing in the 2018 NCAA Division II Championships.
Redshirt freshman Calley Heilborn (Auburn, WA/Auburn Riverside) led the Vikings with a 20-kill, 17-dig double-double. The outside hitter added 3 blocks and one service ace for a team-high 22.5 points. In the first three matches of her collegiate career, Heilborn is averaging 3.38 kills and 2.62 digs per set.
Sophomore outside hitter Gabby Gunterman (Lake Stevens, WA) recorded her third consecutive double-double to open the season with 12 kills and 21 digs.
Senior libero Mae Thungc (Kent, WA/Kentridge) also contributed 16 digs and redshirt freshman setter Malea Aleaga (Burien, WA/Kennedy) recorded her third straight 50-assist match.
"There are a lot of lessons out there for us to learn and we did a good job figuring it out after the first set," said WWU 20th-year head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "Calley was really aggressive offensively and sprayed the ball to keep their defense guessing. And our defense was extremely active, starting with Mae."
WWU out-hit a season-high .319, while holding its opponent to a .109 attack percentage. The Vikings also held a decisive advantage in kills (59-32), digs (73-53) and blocks (7-4).
Spring Hill (Mobile, AL) was led by 13 kills from Kassandra Fairly and 14 digs from Cassidi Sterrett.
The Vikings (3-0) complete the season-opening Spring Hill Suites Invitational Saturday against Florida Tech (0-2) with first serve scheduled for 12:30 pm CT/10:30 am PT from the UWF Field House. The match can be viewed live online at WWUVikings.com/VB_Watch.
Kills - Heilborn (20), Gunterman (12), Harper (11)
Aces - Gunterman (2), Lologo (2), Payne (1)
Blocks - Bopray (3), Heilborn (3), Harper (2)
Assists - Aleaga (50)
Digs - Gunterman (21), Heilborn (17), Thungc (16)
Points - Heilborn (22.5), Gunterman (15), Harper (12), Bopray (9.5)
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 60-8 overall and 39-1 in conference play, and over the last five seasons are 110-22 (.833). Led by 20th-year head coach Diane Flick-Williams, the Vikings have posted a 178-37 record over the last eight seasons (.829 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).
