BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 20 nationally-ranked Western Washington University volleyball team played with Pride Thursday night in a 3-0 sweep over Seattle Pacific University.
 
Hosting what has become an annual tradition for Pride Night in Carver Gym, the Vikings recorded their first sweep of the season while improving to 10-4 overall and 6-1 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. WWU extended its winning streak to five consecutive matches maintaining a hold of second place in the GNAC standings. SPU had its three-match winning streak snapped falling to 9-6 overall and 5-3 in league play.
 
"First off I would like to say how proud I am to have hosted Pride Night and bringing together of our community," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "20 years ago I would face negative recruiting for being gay and to have it come to where we have a night like this and celebrate it is quite humbling."
 
In a match that featured 29 tie scores and 12 total lead changes, the Vikings battled from behind in each set to record the 25-22, 27-25, 25-22 victory over the Falcons.
 
Junior outside hitter Gabby Gunterman led the Vikings with 11 kills and added five blocks for a team-high 15.0 points. Sophomore outside hitter Calley Heilborn had 10 kills and eight digs to go with a pair of service aces.
 
"Our pins (Gabby & Calley) were outstanding tonight at the net both hitting and blocking, as well as in the back row," added Flick-Williams. "It was such a solid overall performance by the two of them."
 
Junior middle Olivia Fairchild recorded 10 kills on a .421 hitting percentage and added five blocks. Sophomore libero Kasey Woodruff led Western with nine digs and junior middle Chloe Roetcisoender tied Fairchild and Gunterman with five blocks. Freshman setter Adele Holland paced the offense with 34 assists and added seven digs.
 
"Chloe and Olivia were very efficient and worked hard to make themselves available to hit," said Flick-Williams.
 
The Falcons were led by a 12-kill, 13-dig double-double from Maddie Batiste, and 11 kills and nine digs by Erin Gould.
 
WWU dominated the play at the net with an 11-3 advantage in blocks and out-hit the Falcons .255-to.202.
 
"Our block was really good tonight and beyond the 11 stuffs, we got our hands on a lot of balls which is something we worked on this week…so it is great to see their hard work in action," said Flick-Williams.
  The Vikings (10-4, 6-1 GNAC) remain at home for the next three matches with Montana State Billings (7-10, 3-5 GNAC) up next on Saturday with first serve at 7 pm in Carver Gym. The complete 2021 WWU Volleyball schedule, complete with results and links to follow matches live, can be found online at wwuvikings.com/VB.
  Kills - Gunterman (11), Fairchild (10), Heilborn (10)
Aces - Heilborn (2), Gunterman (1), Lologo (1)
Blocks - Roetcisoender (5), Fairchild (5), Gunterman (5)
Assists - Holland (34), Roetcisoender (1), Fairchild (1)
Digs - Woodruff (9), Heilborn (8), Holland (7)
Points - Gunterman (15.0), Heilborn (13.5), Fairchild (12.5)
  WWU leads the all-time series vs. SPU 57-28, which includes a 21-3 record over the last 24 matches and a current 10-match winning streak vs. the Falcons in Bellingham. WWU won the 2021 spring series 4-2, going 3-0 in Carver Gym and 1-2 in road matches in Seattle. WWU will play SPU in Seattle on November 13 during the final week of the regular season.
  WWU is 5-0 in home matches on WECU Court in Carver Gym, after going 8-0 during the abbreviated spring season. The Vikings own an all-time 289-82 (.779) record in the on-campus facility and since moving back into the renovated facility in 2017, the WWU is 45-1. Western is 174-16 (.916) all-time in Carver Gym in the 22 seasons that head coach Diane Flick-Williams has led the program. WWU's last loss in Carver Gym was a five-set thriller vs. UAA on November 14, 2019, and has since won 14 consecutive matches in Bellingham.
  Here is a match-by-match look at the 2021 season through the first 14 matches of the season:
 

Date	Opponent		Score	Score-by-set
9/3	Sonoma State	W	3-1	26-24,23-25,25-18,25-18
9/4	MSU Denver (#11)	W	3-2	25-21,24-26,18-25,30-28,15-7
9/5	Chaminade	W	3-1	25-20,22-25,25-23,25-18
9/10	vs. Wayne State (#17)	L	0-3	22-25,17-25,22-25
9/10	vs. Lewis (#5)	L	0-3	16-25,24-26,16-25
9/11	vs. Lynn (RV)	W	3-2	22-25,25-16,23-25,25-20,15-11
9/11	vs. Cal State San Bernardino (#6)	L	2-3	23-25,35-33,25-17,21-25,13-15
9/18	at Simon Fraser* (#20)	W	3-2	25-13,19-25,20-25,25-23,15-9
9/23	at Central Washington*	L	1-3	13-25,25-19,15-25,23-25
9/25	at Northwest Nazarene*	W	3-1	25-13,25-27,25-22,25-22
10/2	Alaska Fairbanks*	W	3-2	25-13,20-25,25-23,23-25,15-13
10/7	at Western Oregon*	W	3-1	25-12,23-25,25-20,25-17
10/9	at Saint Martin's*	W	3-1	25-19,25-17,21-25,25-19
10/14	Seattle Pacific*	W	3-0	25-22,27-25,25-22
10/16	Montana State Billings*		7 pm

  WWU is 10-4 overall and 6-1 in GNAC play, going 1-2 in three-set matches, 5-1 in four-set contests and 4-1 in five sets. Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2021 season:
 

2021 RECORD BREAKDOWN
Overall Record	10-4
Streak	W5
Home	5-0
Away	4-1
Neutral	1-3
GNAC Record	6-1
3-Set Matches	1-2
4-Set Matches	5-1
5-Set Matches	4-1
Ranked Opponents	2-3
Record by Jersey
Navy Blue	3-1
White	1-0
Light Blue	4-2
Dark Gray	2-1

  The Vikings have now won 76 of their last 89 matches dating back to the 2018 season (76-13/.854) when the Vikings were the NCAA II national runner-up. WWU is also 103-17 (.858) dating back to the start of the 2017 season.
  Here is a look at the 2021 Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings following play on Thursday:
 

2021 STANDINGS	CONF	PCT	OVERALL	PCT	HOME	AWAY	NEUTRAL	STREAK
Alaska Anchorage	7-0	1.000	14-5	.737	7-1	6-1	1-3	Won 7
Western Washington	6-1	.857	10-4	.714	5-0	4-1	1-3	Won 5
Alaska	6-2	.750	13-7	.650	7-1	4-4	2-2	Won 2
Simon Fraser	5-3	.625	11-4	.733	2-2	4-1	5-1	Won 3
Central Washington	5-3	.625	9-5	.643	7-0	1-3	1-2	Won 1
Seattle Pacific	5-3	.625	9-6	.600	7-0	1-4	1-2	Lost 1
Montana State Billings	3-5	.375	7-10	.412	7-3	0-5	0-2	Lost 2
Saint Martin's	1-7	.125	7-10	.412	1-4	1-4	5-2	Lost 5
Northwest Nazarene	1-7	.125	3-12	.200	1-2	1-10	1-0	Won 1
Western Oregon	0-8	.000	2-13	.133	0-5	0-4	2-4	Lost 11
Thursday's Results (home team in bold) Western Washington 3, Seattle Pacific 0 Central Washington 3, Western Oregon 0 Northwest Nazarene 3, Saint Martin's 1 Simon Fraser 3, Montana State Billings 0