MONMOUTH, Ore. – Led by double-double performances from outside hitters Gabby Gunterman and Calley Heilborn, the No. 21 Western Washington University volleyball team defeated Western Oregon University in four sets Thursday evening in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
WWU improved to 8-4 overall and 4-1 in GNAC play with its third consecutive victory by defeating the Wolves 25-12, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17. Playing for the first time under interim head coach Traci Stephenson, the Wolves fought hard but dropped to 2-11 overall and 0-6 in conference play with their ninth consecutive loss.
 
"We had a great effort by everyone tonight against a very inspired WOU team," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "Kasey (Woodruff) was an anchor for us defensively and Gabby (Gunterman) had a great night on the pin. Keps (Gabby Kepley) was the spark that we needed to pull away in the third set. We are a galaxy and everyone had a hand in tonight's victory."
 
The reigning GNAC Players of the Week lifted the Vikings to the victory, with Gunterman providing 16 kills, 10 digs and a pair of service aces. Heilborn tallied 13 kills, 16 digs and had three blocks. Junior middle Olivia Fairchild added 10 kills and a team-best five blocks.
 
Sophomore libero Kasey Woodruff anchored the defense with a match-high 21 digs and true freshman setter Adele Holland notched a 47-assist, 11-dig double-double in her second collegiate match. Outside hitter Gabby Kepley sparked the Vikings during the third-set comeback and finished with three kills and a pair of blocks.
 
The Wolves were led by 13 kills and 11 digs from Isabel Hurliman.
 
The Vikings out-hit the Wolves .265-to-.146 in the match and held a 10-7 advantage in blocks. Additionally, WWU equaled its season high with eight service aces (4th time).
 
SET 1 (WWU 25, WOU 12): The Vikings took command of the first set using a 14-4 run to pull away from an early 5-4 lead en route to the 25-12 victory to go up 1-0 in the match. The Vikings hit .464 in the set (15 kills, 2 errors, 28 attacks) and were led by five kills each from Tess Biscup and Gabby Gunterman. WWU recorded four service aces and limited the Wolves to a .125 hitting percentage.
 
SET 2 (WOU 25, WWU 23): A tightly-contested second set featured 13 tie scores, but WOU came out of its final timeout scoring consecutive points for the 25-23 win to tie the match 1-1. Trailing 17-16, the Vikings went on a 3-0 run to lead 19-17, forcing the Wolves to take their first timeout. WOU answered with a 3-0 run of its own to grab a 20-19 lead. With Western Oregon leading 23-20, the Vikings called a timeout and answered with a 3-0 run to tie the set 23-23. Consecutive kills by Isabel Hurliman gave the Wolves the set victory. WWU was limited to a .167 hitting percentage in the set (WOU at .214).
 
SET 3 (WWU 25, WOU 20): Gabby Kepley sparked the Vikings to a third-set 25-20 victory, subbing in during an extended 13-5 run to put the Vikings up 2-1 in the match. WWU trailed 6-3 early and 12-8 in the middle of the set, but went on a 8-2 run to grab a 17-15 lead. After the set was tied 17-17, the Vikings answered with a 8-3 run to put the set away.  
 
SET 4 (WWU 25, WOU 17): The Vikings took control of the fourth set racing out to a 9-3 lead, and never turned back to end the match with a 25-17 win. WWU used a 10-3 run to pull away from a 2-2 tie.
  The Vikings (8-4, 4-1 GNAC) continue their road trip down I-5 playing at Saint Martin's in Lacey on Saturday (5:15 pm). 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 (16), Heilborn (13), Fairchild (10)
Aces - Lologo (3), Gunterman (2), Roetcisoender (1)
Blocks - Fairchild (5), Roetcisoender (4), Heilborn (3)
Assists - Holland (47), Lologo (7)
Digs - Woodruff (21), Heilborn (16), Holland (11), Gunterman (10)
Points - Gunterman (18.5), Heilborn (15.5), Fairchild (13.0), Roetcisoender (12.0)
  WWU leads the all-time series vs. Western Oregon 46-14, including a current 18-match winning streak. Nine of the last 11 wins vs. the Wolves have been 3-0 sweeps. Defeated WOU in three consecutive matches last spring (in consecutive days) to open the abbreviated 11-match season in April. The two teams will meet again in Bellingham on November 6.
  Here is a match-by-match look at the 2021 season through the first 12 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
9/30	Alaska Anchorage*	Postponed
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*			5:15 pm

  WWU is 8-4 overall and 4-1 in GNAC play, going 0-2 in three-set matches, 4-1 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	8-4
Streak	W3
Home	4-0
Away	3-1
Neutral	1-3
GNAC Record	4-1
3-Set Matches	0-2
4-Set Matches	4-1
5-Set Matches	4-1
Ranked Opponents	2-3
Record by Jersey
Navy Blue	3-1
White	1-0
Light Blue	2-2
Dark Gray	2-1