BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 19 nationally-ranked Western Washington University volleyball team handled Northwest Nazarene in a three-set sweep Thursday evening on WECU Court in Carver Gym. Game scores were 25-14, 25-14, 25-12 in favor of the Vikings.
 
The Vikings won their seventh consecutive match to improve to 12-4 overall and moved into a first-place tie in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with an 8-1 league mark. NNU had its mini two-match win streak come to a halt falling to 4-13 overall and 2-8 in GNAC play.
 
Junior middle Olivia Fairchild recorded a team-high nine kills on a .303 hitting percentage and had six blocks to finish with 12.0 points.
 
Twins Chloe Roetcisoender (7 kills, .312, 5 blocks) and Tess Biscup (7 kills, .333, 5 blocks) turned in solid performances to help lead the dominating performance. Sophomore outside hitter Calley Heilborn was efficient on her eight kills hitting .350 and recorded 13 digs.
 
Sophomore libero Kasey Woodruff had a match-high 21 digs to anchor the defense. Freshman Adele Holland (26 assists) and sophomore Malia Aleaga (7 assists) combined to lead the offense to a .252 hitting percentage.
 
"I am super impressed with how the team prepared this week and how everyone was ready when their moment was in front of them," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "Kasey (Woodruff) was outstanding tonight. Her reads were solid and her contacts were with purpose. Tess (Biscup) had great rhythm and great eye-work on the block which set the tone early for us."
 
Molly Anderson led NNU with nine kills and nine digs. The Vikings limited reigning GNAC Offensive Player of the Week Natalie Sullivan to just one kills on 23 attacks.
  The Vikings (12-4, 8-1 GNAC) close out a four-match homestand Saturday hosting in-state rival Central Washington at 7 pm in Carver Gym. The match vs. the Wildcats will feature the annual Pink Night raising awareness for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The complete 2021 WWU Volleyball schedule, complete with results and links to follow matches live, can be found online at wwuvikings.com/VB.
  Kills - Fairchild (9), Heilborn (8), Roetcisoender (7)
Aces - Holland (1), Aleaga (1)
Blocks - Fairchild (6), Roetcisoender (5), Biscup (5)
Assists - Holland (26), Aleaga (7), Fairchild (2)
Digs - Woodruff (21), Heilborn (13), Gunterman (6)
Points - Fairchild (12.0), Roetcisoender (9.5), Biscup (9.5), Heilborn (8.5)
  Swept the season series vs. NNU, also defeating the Nighthawks in four sets on Sept. 25 in Nampa, Idaho. WWU is now 43-9 all-time vs. NNU and won eight consecutive matches in the series. The Vikings lead the all-time series 18-4 in matches played in Bellingham, including winning nine consecutive in Carver Gym.
  WWU improved to 7-0 in home matches on WECU Court in Carver Gym this season, after going 8-0 during the abbreviated spring season. The Vikings own an all-time 291-82 (.780) record in the on-campus facility and since moving back into the renovated facility in 2017, WWU is 47-1. Western is 176-16 (.917) 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 16 consecutive matches in Bellingham.
  Here is a match-by-match look at the 2021 season through the first 16 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
10/21	Northwest Nazarene*	W	3-0	25-14,25-14,25-12
10/23	Central Washington*

  WWU is 12-4 overall and 8-1 in GNAC play, going 3-2 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	12-4
Streak	W7
Home	7-0
Away	4-1
Neutral	1-3
GNAC Record	8-1
3-Set Matches	3-2
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	3-1

  The Vikings have now won 78 of their last 91 matches dating back to the 2018 season (78-13/.857) when the Vikings were the NCAA II national runner-up. WWU is also 105-17 (.861) 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, with the Vikings moving into a tie for first place in the standings with Alaska Anchorage:
 

2021 STANDINGS		CONF	PCT	OVERALL	PCT	HOME	AWAY	NEUTRAL	STREAK
1.	Western Washington	8-1	.889	12-4	.750	7-0	4-1	1-3	Won 7
	Alaska Anchorage	8-1	.889	15-6	.714	8-1	6-2	1-3	Lost 1
3.	Simon Fraser	7-3	.700	13-4	.765	4-2	4-1	5-1	Won 5
4.	Central Washington	6-4	.600	10-6	.625	8-0	1-4	1-2	Lost 1
	Alaska Fairbanks	6-4	.600	13-9	.591	7-1	4-6	2-2	Lost 2
	Seattle Pacific	6-4	.600	10-7	.588	8-0	1-5	1-2	Won 1
7.	Montana State Billings	4-6	.400	8-11	.421	8-3	0-6	0-2	Won 1
8.	Northwest Nazarene	2-8	.200	4-13	.235	2-2	1-11	1-0	Lost 1
9.	Saint Martin's	1-8	.111	8-11	.421	1-4	2-5	5-2	Won 1
10	Western Oregon	0-9	.000	2-15	.118	0-5	0-5	2-4	Lost 12
Thursday's Results at Western Washington 3, Northwest Nazarene 0 at Simon Fraser 3, Central Washington 0 at Montana State Billings 3, Alaska Fairbanks 2 at Seattle Pacific 3, Alaska Anchorage 0

  Saturday's match vs. Central Washington will feature the annual Pink Night, with the volleyball program helping the community highlight cancer awareness. WWU will wear special white jerseys with pink numbers and there will be a special pre-match ceremony honoring the mother of setter Malia Aleaga, who passed away from cancer in 2020.

FOLLOW THE VIKS ONLINE
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 (472-116/.803) the Vikings have posted a 223-46 record over the last 10 seasons (.829 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).