BELLINGHAM, Wash. – With a four-set victory over the Alaska Anchorage, the Western Washington University volleyball team clinched at least a share of its fourth consecutive Great Northwest Athletic Conference title.
 
The No. 16 nationally-ranked Vikings defeated conference rival UAA 3-1 with game scores of 25-21, 23-25, 28-26, 25-22 in a rare Monday match on WECU Court in Carver Gym. The match was a makeup of the postponed contest that was originally scheduled for September 30, but delayed due to health and safety protocols.
 
WWU extended its winning streak to 13 consecutive matches and remained perfect at 11-0 in Carver Gym this season to improve to 18-4 overall and 14-1 in conference play. WWU has three remaining GNAC matches and has a magic number of one to claim a fourth straight outright GNAC title.
 
The Seawolves dropped to 17-10 overall and 10-5 in GNAC matches while enduring their fifth loss in the last seven matches. Western swept UAA a little over a week ago in Anchorage.
 
In a match featuring the last six GNAC champions, a great display of volleyball featured 28 tie scores and 10 lead changes in the four-set battle. UAA held a slight edge in several statistical categories, including out-blocking the Vikings 14.5-to-13.0 and a 99-to-89 edge in digs. WWU had a season-high-tying nine service aces.
 
"We battled all the way through tonight against a tough UAA squad," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams, who has guided the Vikings to 11 GNAC titles in 22 seasons. "I thought we were good in what we call the red zone after 20 points and made some great plays when we needed them. We came together as a group as the match went on and proud of their effort and determination."
 
Junior middle Olivia Fairchild led the Vikings with 18.5 points, contributing 13 kills on a .324 hitting percentage and recorded a match-high nine blocks.
 
The All-American outside hitter combination of junior Gabby Gunterman and Calley Heilborn resulted in a pair of double-doubles and 25 combined kills. Gunterman notched a 13-kill, 21-dig double-double and Heilborn tallied her 16th double-double with 12 kills and 18 digs.
 
Sophomore libero Kasey Woodruff led four Vikings with double-digits in digs with a career-high 25 digs. Sophomore defensive specialist Tupu Lologo added 11 digs and three service aces. Sophomore setter Malia Aleaga dished out 44 assists and also had seven digs and a pair of blocks.
 
UAA was led by a 18-kill, 16-dig double-double from Eve Stephens and 11 kills and seven blocks by Akor Maywin.
  The Vikings (18-4, 14-1 GNAC) return to the road with a pair of GNAC contests, traveling to play Montana State Billings on Thursday (7 pm MT/6 pm PT) and Seattle Pacific on Saturday (7 pm). The complete 2021 WWU Volleyball schedule, complete with results and links to follow matches live, can be found online at wwuvikings.com/VB.
  With three matches remaining in the 2021 regular season, the Vikings clinched at least a share of their 11th GNAC title. WWU is 14-1 in conference play, with second-place Simon Fraser at 11-4 also with three matches remaining. Western has a magic number of one to claim the outright title for the fourth consecutive season. Since the Great Northwest Athletic Conference was formed in 2001, WWU has claimed at least a share of the title in 11 of the 20 seasons.
  SET 1 (WWU 25, UAA 21): A flurry of defensive gems from both teams was the backdrop of a highly competitive start to the set, with both squads exchanging points. Neither team was able to secure a lead of more than two for much of the set, but an ace from Kasey Woodruff gave the Vikings a small 13-12 margin that they would never relinquish. A 7-2 run gave Western a bit of space at 23-17, and even after a 4-1 Seawolves rally cut the lead to three points, a Tess Biscup kill gave the home team the set, 25-21. WWU was led by Calley Heilborn, who had six kills (.312 hitting pct.) to go along with four digs. Woodruff led the Vikings 24 dig set with seven of her own. WWU hit at a .286 clip in an entertaining set that featured 10 tie scores and six lead changes.
 
SET 2 (UAA 25, WWU 23): Another back-and-forth start to the set gave way to an early 9-5 UAA lead after a 7-2 run. A two-point Viking rally was gave way to a 4-0 UAA run to make it 12-7 Seawolves. The Vikings answered with a run of their own scoring 10 of the next 14 points to level the set 17-17. Ties followed at both 19-19 and 20-20. Coming out of a timeout down 22-20, an cross-court spike from Calley Heilborn sparked a rally that would bring it to a one point 24-23 deficit, but the Vikings would fall just short, losing the set 25-23. WWU was paced by Olivia Fairchild, who tallied five kills on 10 attempts.

SET 3 (WWU 28, UAA 26): The visitors jumped out to an 11-3 lead with runs of 4-0 to open the stanza and 5-0 to grow the lead to eight points. WWU answered with a 7-1 run, featuring a pair of Tupu Lologo service aces. The Vikings fought all the way back to tie at 14-14, the first of nine ties in the set. A back-and-forth battle ensued before UAA gained a three-point lead at 23-20. Another late Viking rally tied the set at 24-24, staving off four set points. Tess Biscup capped a 3-0 run with a kill to end the set 28-26 in favor of the Vikings. Gabby Gunterman led the Vikings with five kills and seven digs in the set.
 
SET 4 (WWU 25, UAA 22): The Vikings carried their momentum into the start of the fourth set, taking an early 9-3 lead, including two kills apiece from Tess Biscup and Gabby Gunterman. The Seawolves battled back, putting together an 8-4 run to pull to within two points at 13-11. WWU answered with a 3-0 run and grew the lead to 21-15. UAA held off five set points before dropping the final set 25-22. Kasey Woodruff had 10 digs in the fourth set.
  Kills – Fairchild (13), Gunterman (13), Heilborn (12)
Aces – Lologo (3), Roetcisoender (2), Aleaga (1)
Blocks – Fairchild (9), Heilborn (4), Roetcisoender (3)
Assists – Aleaga (44), Heilborn (2), Lologo (2)
Digs – Woodruff (25), Gunterman (21), Heilborn (18)
Points – Fairchild (18.5), Heilborn (15.5), Gunterman (14.5), Biscup (9.5)
  Here is a look at the 2021 Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings following play on Monday, with the Vikings remaining in first place in the conference:
 

2021 STANDINGS		CONF	PCT	OVERALL	PCT	HOME	AWAY	NEUTRAL	STREAK
1.	Western Washington	14-1	.933	18-4	.818	11-0	6-1	1-3	Won 13
2.	Simon Fraser	11-4	.733	17-5	.773	7-2	5-2	5-1	Won 2
3.	Alaska Anchorage	10-5	.667	17-10	.630	8-3	8-4	1-3	Lost 2
4.	Seattle Pacific	9-5	.643	13-8	.619	10-0	2-6	1-2	Won 2
	Central Washington	9-5	.643	13-7	.650	10-0	2-5	1-2	Won 3
6.	Alaska Fairbanks	8-7	.533	15-12	.556	8-2	5-8	2-2	Won 1
7.	Montana State Billings	5-9	.357	10-14	.417	8-4	2-8	0-2	Lost 1
8.	Saint Martin's	3-11	.214	10-14	.417	3-5	2-7	5-2	Lost 3
9.	Northwest Nazarene	2-12	.143	5-17	.227	3-5	1-12	1-0	Lost 3
10.	Western Oregon	1-13	.071	3-18	.143	1-6	0-8	2-4	Lost 3
Monday's GNAC Results at #16 Western Washington 3, Alaska Anchorage 1

  Earned the season sweep over UAA also defeating the Seawolves 3-0 on October 30 in Anchorage. WWU has now swept UAA in a season in three of the last four seasons (2017, 2018, 2021). The Vikings lead the all-time series 38-19, including a 15-7 record in Bellingham. WWU has now won seven of the last nine meetings. The series has featured six 5-set matches and only two sweeps among the last 18 meetings between the conference rivals.
  Here is a match-by-match look at the 2021 season through the first 22 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*	W	3-0	25-13,25-22,25-22
10/28	at Alaska Fairbanks*	W	3-2	23-25,27-25,25-16,21-25,15-11
10/30	at Alaska Anchorage*	W	3-0	25-22,25-23,25-19
11/4	Saint Martin's*	W	3-0	25-22,25-15,25-23
11/6	Western Oregon*	W	3-0	25-17,25-17,25-18
11/8	Alaska Anchorage*	W	3-1	25-21,23-25,28-26,25-22
11/11	at Montana State Billings*
11/13	at Seattle Pacific*
11/20	Simon Fraser*

  WWU is 18-4 overall and 14-1 in GNAC play, going 7-2 in three-set matches, 6-1 in four-set contests and 5-1 in five sets. Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2021 season:
 

2021 RECORD BREAKDOWN
Overall Record	18-4
Streak	W13
Home	11-0
Away	6-1
Neutral	1-3
GNAC Record	14-1
3-Set Matches	7-2
4-Set Matches	6-1
5-Set Matches	5-1
Ranked Opponents	2-3
Record by Jersey
Navy Blue	6-1
White	2-0
Light Blue	6-2
Dark Gray	4-1

  WWU is now 11-0 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 295-82 (.782) record in the on-campus facility and since moving back into the renovated facility in 2017, WWU is 51-1. Western is 180-16 (.918) 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 20 consecutive matches in Bellingham.
  WWU has a current 13-match winning streak, a stretch of victories that began with a four-set road win over Northwest Nazarene on September 25. The Vikings were perfect during October going 9-0, with five 3-0 sweeps. WWU has now recorded a double-digit winning streak in each of the last six "full" seasons: 17 (2019), 30 (2018), 20 (2017), 11 (2016), 16 (2015).
  The Vikings have now won 84 of their last 97 matches dating back to the 2018 season (84-13/.866) when the Vikings were the NCAA II national runner-up. WWU is also 111-17 (.867) dating back to the start of the 2017 season.
  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 11 Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships (claimed at least a share of 2021 title), 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 (478-116/.805) the Vikings have posted a 229-46 record over the last 10 seasons (.833 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).