BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 20 nationally-ranked Western Washington University volleyball team won its sixth consecutive match by sweeping Montana State Billings in dominating fashion Saturday evening on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
 
WWU improved to 11-4 overall and 7-1 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with the decisive 25-17, 25-11, 25-18 victory over the Yellowjackets. MSUB dropped to 7-11 overall and 3-6 in conference play.
 
The Vikings were led by 12 kills on a .345 hitting percentage from sophomore outside hitter Calley Heilborn, and a career-high five service aces to lead all players with 17.5 points.
 
Junior outside hitter Gabby Gunterman added 12 kills on a .429 hitting percentage and had seven digs. Junior middle Olivia Fairchild also turned in a standout performance with 11 kills on a .556 hitting percentage and recorded a match-high three blocks.
 
"Tonight was a great offensive effort against the scrappy defense of MSUB," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "Our serve and serve-receive game was really good tonight and that was the precursor to the offensive effort we had. Overall, it was great play all around."
 
Freshman setter Adele Holland ran the offense efficiently resulting in a season-high .380 hitting percentage, dishing out 35 assists with three players recording 10-or-more kills.
 
"Adele did a great job putting our hitters in good positions to score," said Flick-Williams on her true-freshman setter. "Our hitters took care of the ball when they had the opportunity and it resulted in a really good offensive night for the team."
 
Skylar Reed led MSUB with 10 kills on a .364 hitting percentage and libero Christine Funk had a match-high 10 digs.
  The Vikings (11-4, 7-1 GNAC) remain at home for two matches next week, hosting Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and in-state rival Central Washington on Saturday for Pink Night. Both matches feature a 7 pm first serve on WECU Court 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 - Heilborn (12), Gunterman (12), Fairchild (11)
Aces - Heilborn (5), Lologo (2), Holland (1)
Blocks - Fairchild (3), Roetcisoender (2), Biscup (2)
Assists - Holland (35), Roetcisoender (1), Fairchild (1)
Digs - Woodruff (8), Gunterman (7), Lologo (7)
Points - Heilborn (17.5), Gunterman (14.0), Fairchild (12.5), Biscup (6.0)
  WWU improved to 29-1 all-time vs. MSU Billings and extended its winning streak to 12 consecutive matches vs. the Yellowjackets. The Vikings are now 15-0 all-time vs. MSUB in Bellingham with a perfect 13-0 record inside Carver Gym. WWU travels to play in Billings on Thursday, November 10.
  WWU is 6-0 in home matches on WECU Court in Carver Gym, after going 8-0 during the abbreviated spring season. The Vikings own an all-time 290-82 (.780) record in the on-campus facility and since moving back into the renovated facility in 2017, the WWU is 46-1. Western is 175-16 (.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 15 consecutive matches in Bellingham.
  Here is a match-by-match look at the 2021 season through the first 15 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*	W	3-0	25-17,25-11,25-18

  WWU is 11-4 overall and 7-1 in GNAC play, going 2-2 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	11-4
Streak	W6
Home	6-0
Away	4-1
Neutral	1-3
GNAC Record	7-1
3-Set Matches	2-2
4-Set Matches	5-1
5-Set Matches	4-1
Ranked Opponents	2-3
Record by Jersey
Navy Blue	4-1
White	1-0
Light Blue	4-2
Dark Gray	2-1

  The Vikings have now won 77 of their last 90 matches dating back to the 2018 season (77-13/.855) when the Vikings were the NCAA II national runner-up. WWU is also 104-17 (.860) dating back to the start of the 2017 season.
  Here is a look at the 2021 Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings following play on Saturday, with the Vikings in second place in the conference:
 

2021 STANDINGS	CONF	PCT	OVERALL	PCT	HOME	AWAY	NEUTRAL	STREAK
Alaska Anchorage	8-0	1.000	15-5	.750	8-1	6-1	1-3	Won 8
Western Washington	7-1	.875	11-4	.733	6-0	4-1	1-3	Won 6
Simon Fraser	6-3	.667	12-4	.750	3-2	4-1	5-1	Won 4
Central Washington	6-3	.667	10-5	.667	8-0	1-3	1-2	Won 2
Alaska	6-3	.667	13-8	.619	7-1	4-5	2-2	Lost 1
Seattle Pacific	5-4	.556	9-7	.563	7-0	1-5	1-2	Lost 2
Montana State Billings	3-6	.333	7-11	.389	7-3	0-6	0-2	Lost 3
Northwest Nazarene	2-7	.222	4-12	.250	2-2	1-10	1-0	Won 2
Saint Martin's	1-8	.111	7-11	.389	1-4	1-5	5-2	Lost 6
Western Oregon	0-9	.000	2-15	.118	0-5	0-5	2-4	Lost 12
Saturday's Results (home team in bold) Western Washington 3, Montana State Billings 0 Alaska Anchorage 3, Alaska Fairbanks 0 Central Washington 3, Saint Martin's 0 Northwest Nazarene 3, Western Oregon 0 Simon Fraser 3, Seattle Pacific 1

  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.
  Currently in its 50th season as a varsity intercollegiate sport at WWU, the Western volleyball program has risen to elite level by advancing to the NCAA Division II Championships in each of the last eight seasons and 14 of the last 19 dating back to the 2001 season. The winner of 10 Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships, Western won the 2018 GNAC title with a perfect 20-0 record, the 2017 championship by posting a 19-1 league and became a 3-peat champion with an 18-2 mark in 2019. Led by 22nd-year head coach Diane Flick-Williams (471-116/.802) the Vikings have posted a 222-46 record over the last 10 seasons (.828 winning percentage) and have played in the NCAA II West Region championship match four of the last five 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, and have advanced to the NCAA Final Four in two of the past five seasons (2015 and 2018).