LACEY, Wash. – The No. 21 nationally-ranked Western Washington University volleyball team defeated Saint Martin's University in a four-set victory in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
WWU won its fourth consecutive match to improve to 9-5 overall and 5-1 in GNAC play with the 25-19, 25-17, 21-25, 25-21 win over the Saints Saturday evening in Marcus Pavilion. Saint Martin's dropped to 7-9 overall and 1-6 in GNAC play with its 43rd consecutive loss against the Vikings.
"Road wins are so important in this conference and I'm proud of our group for how they played these two matches this week," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "Kasey (Woodruff) had an outstanding match vacuuming up a lot of balls to match the scrappiness of SMU."
Sophomore outside hitter Calley Heilborn recorded her 13th double-double of the season with 13 kills and 15 digs.
A strong defensive effort was led by sophomore libero Kasey Woodruff with 23 digs and junior outside hitter Gabby Gunterman tallied 9 kills and 12 digs.
Junior middle Olivia Fairchild tallied nine kills and had a match-high seven blocks for 12.5 total points.
The Vikings out-blocked the Saints 12-2 and recorded a .245 hitting percentage, while holding SMU to a .081 mark.
Saint Matin's was led by 13 kills from Emily Gooding, with Tia Allen nearing a double-double with nine kills and 11 digs.
UP NEXT
The Vikings (9-4, 5-1 GNAC) return home for a season-high four-match homestand, beginning by hosting Seattle Pacific on Thursday and Montana State Billings on Saturday inside Carver Gym on the WWU campus. Both matches feature a 7 pm first serve. Thursday's match vs. SPU will be the annual Pride Night. The complete 2021 WWU Volleyball schedule, complete with results and links to follow matches live, can be found online at
wwuvikings.com/VB.
WWU STATISTICAL LEADERS
Kills - Heilborn (13), Fairchild (9), Gunterman (9)
Aces - Heilborn (3), Lologo (2), Roetcisoender (1)
Blocks - Fairchild (7), Roetcisoender (5), Heilborn (3)
Assists - Holland (36), Lologo (3), Woodruff (2)
Digs - Woodruff (23), Heilborn (15), Gunterman (12)
Points - Heilborn (17.5), Fairchild (12.5), Roetcisoender (10.5), Gunterman (9.5)
SERIES HISTORY VS. SAINT MARTIN'S
WWU recorded its 43rd consecutive win over Saint Martin's and are now 64-5 all-time vs. the Saints. The Vikings have won 63 of the last 65 sets in the series dating back to 2010. The two teams meet again on WECU Court in Carver Gym on November 4 (7 pm first serve).
Here is a match-by-match look at the 2021 season through the first 13 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*
|
W
|
3-1
|
25-19,25-17,21-25,25-19
|
WWU is 9-4 overall and 5-1 in GNAC play, going 0-2 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
|
9-4
|
|
Streak
|
W4
|
|
Home
|
4-0
|
|
Away
|
4-1
|
|
Neutral
|
1-3
|
|
GNAC Record
|
5-1
|
|
3-Set Matches
|
0-2
|
|
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
|
3-2
|
|
Dark Gray
|
2-1
|
Here is a look at the 2021 Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings following play on Saturday:
|
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
|
5-1
|
.833
|
9-4
|
.692
|
4-0
|
4-1
|
1-3
|
Won 4
|
|
Alaska Fairbanks
|
6-2
|
.750
|
13-7
|
.650
|
7-1
|
4-4
|
2-2
|
Won 2
|
|
Seattle Pacific
|
5-2
|
.714
|
9-5
|
.643
|
7-0
|
1-3
|
1-2
|
Won 3
|
|
Central Washington
|
4-3
|
.571
|
8-5
|
.615
|
6-0
|
1-3
|
1-2
|
Lost 2
|
|
Simon Fraser
|
4-3
|
.571
|
10-4
|
.714
|
1-2
|
4-1
|
5-1
|
Won 2
|
|
Montana State Billings
|
3-4
|
.429
|
7-9
|
.438
|
7-3
|
0-4
|
0-2
|
Lost 1
|
|
Saint Martin's
|
1-6
|
.143
|
7-9
|
.438
|
1-4
|
1-3
|
5-2
|
Lost 4
|
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
0-7
|
.000
|
2-12
|
.143
|
0-2
|
1-10
|
1-0
|
Lost 3
|
|
Western Oregon
|
0-7
|
.000
|
2-12
|
.143
|
0-5
|
0-3
|
2-4
|
Lost 10
|
|
Saturday's Results (home team in bold)
Western Washington 3, Saint Martin's 1
Alaska Fairbanks 3, Central Washington 1
Seattle Pacific 3, Montana State Billings 0
Simon Fraser 3, Western Oregon 0
Alaska Anchorage 3, Northwest Nazarene 0
|
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 (469-116/.802) the Vikings have posted a 220-46 record over the last 10 seasons (.827 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).
