BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University volleyball team capped a shortened 2021 spring season with a pair of 3-1 wins over Seattle Pacific University Saturday on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
 
WWU defeated the Falcons by identical 3-1 scores, winning 25-21, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20 in the opening match and 25-23, 27-25, 23-25, 25-23 in the nightcap. Western finished its 11-match spring schedule with a 9-2 record, going a perfect 8-0 in Carver Gym.
 
Saturday's matches also marked Senior Day for the Vikings, with Janae Payne and Alison Davenport playing their final matches as a Viking. Both seniors had career-best matches, with Davenport totaling 27 kills in the two matches, with a career-best 15 kills in the second match. Payne recorded her first career double-double with 50 assists and 10 digs in the second match.
 
"I am super proud of the team for their response after last night's result," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "Today was about our seniors – Ali and JP – and everyone rose to that task to make sure today was a very special day. Congratulations to Ali and JP for everything they have done, and for going out with a bang. Today was a fitting end to a challenging year…where we were thrown some difficult obstacles and handled them well."
 
In addition to the banner performances by Davenport and Payne, sophomore All-American outside hitter Calley Heilborn recorded a pair of double-doubles, giving her seven in 11 matches this spring. In Saturday's two matches, Heilborn averaged 3.75 kills, 3.88 digs and 0.50 blocks per set.
 
Redshirt freshman Kylie Honrud pounded a team-best 31 kills in the eight sets (3.88 kills/set) while hitting at a .271 clip. Junior middle Chloe Roetcisoender added 11 total blocks (1.38 blocks/set) and sophomore libero/defensive specialist Tupu Lologo averaged 5.00 digs per set.
   
Calley Heilborn posted a double-double with a match-high 14 kills and a team-high 17 digs as the Vikings opened the doubleheader with a 3-1 victory over SPU (25-21, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20).
 
Western improved to 8-2 during the spring season, including 7-0 in Carver Gym, rebounding from a 3-0 loss Friday night to SPU in Seattle. The Falcons had their three-match win streak snapped falling to 11-6.
 
Redshirt freshman Kylie Honrud also had a career-high 14 kills for the Vikings, senior Alison Davenport added 12 kills, 9 digs and 4 blocks; and Tupu Lologo had 17 digs.
 
Hannah Hair led SPU with 11 kills and Lindsay Rosenthal contributed a match-high 19 digs. Maddie Batiste and Erin Gould each had nine kills, Batiste also having 14 digs.
 
The match was hard fought with Western taking five, four and five of the last six points respectively in each of the three games it won.
 
Kills - Heilborn (14), Honrud (14), Davenport (12)
Aces - Payne (3), Lologo (1), Davenport (1)
Blocks - Maracich (5), Davenport (4), Roetcisoender (3)
Assists - Payne (46)
Digs - Woodruff (18), Lologo (17), Heilborn (17)
Points - Heilborn (16.0, Honrud (15.0), Davenport (15.0)
   
The Vikings completed the doubleheader sweep over Seattle Pacific with another 3-1 victory (25-23, 27-25, 23-25, 25-23) to conclude the spring season Saturday.
 
All four sets in the doubleheader finale were decided by just two points.
 
It was Senior Night with outside hitter Alison Davenport and setter Janae Payne competing in their final match for the Vikings, who finished 9-2 in the short spring campaign forced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Davenport recorded a career-high 15 kills, 7 digs, 5 blocks and 2 service aces to finish with 19.5 points. Payne dished out a career-high 50 assists with 10 digs for her first career double-double.
 
Western's Calley Heilborn completed her second double-double of the day (and 7^th of the spring) with 16 kills and 14 digs.
 
Kylie Honrud had 17 kills, Chloe Roetcisoender totaled 8 blocks and Tupu Lologo had 23 digs, for the Vikings, all match highs.
 
WWU won the second set with three consecutive points capped on an ace by Malia Aleaga. Then after giving up a six-point lead, 19-13, and the last three points in the third-set loss, the Vikings came back to win the fourth game and the match with three consecutive points, with Heilborn having two kills and one block assist.
 
Also honored prior to the match was the Falcons lone senior, Gabi Stegemoller, whose career was cut short by an injury that kept her out of action during the 2021 spring season.
 
Kills - Honrud (17), Heilborn (16), Davenport (15)
Aces - Davenport (2), Aleaga (2), Heilborn (1)
Blocks - Roetcisoender (8), Davenport (5), Maracich (2)
Assists - Payne (50)
Digs - Lologo (23), Heilborn (14), Woodruff (12)
Points - Davenport (19.5), Heilborn (18.5), Honrud (17.5), Roetcisoender (8.0)
  With today's pair of victories, WWU now leads the all-time series vs. SPU 56-28, which includes a 20-3 record over the 23 matches. WWU also won the spring series 4-2, going 3-0 in Carver Gym and 1-2 in road matches in Seattle.
  The 2020-21 championship volleyball season concluded Saturday with a pair of WWU victories to finish the spring 9-2. The spring season featured 11 matches in a condensed season running from April 16 through May 15.
 

Date	Opponent	Location	Result
April 16 (Fri)	Western Oregon	Bellingham, WA (Carver Gym)	W, 3-0
April 17 (Sat)	Western Oregon	Bellingham, WA (Carver Gym)	W, 3-0
April 17 (Sat)	Western Oregon	Bellingham, WA (Carver Gym)	W, 3-1
April 23 (Fri)	Seattle Pacific	Bellingham, WA (Carver Gym)	W, 3-0
April 24 (Sat)	at Seattle Pacific	Seattle, WA (Brougham Pavilion)	L, 3-1
April 24 (Sat)	at Seattle Pacific	Seattle, WA (Brougham Pavilion)	W, 3-1
May 1 (Sat)	Central Washington	Bellingham, WA (Carver Gym)	W, 3-2
May 1 (Sat)	Central Washington	Bellingham, WA (Carver Gym)	W, 3-0
May 14 (Fri)	at Seattle Pacific	Seattle, WA (Brougham Pavilion)	L, 3-0
May 15 (Sat)	Seattle Pacific	Bellingham, WA (Carver Gym)	W, 3-1
May 15 (Sat)	Seattle Pacific	Bellingham, WA (Carver Gym)	W, 3-1

  Fans can follow WWU Volleyball online at WWUVikings.com/VB, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUVolleyball), Instagram (@WWUVB) and Facebook (@WWUVolleyball).
  The WWU 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. Over the last four seasons the Vikings have combined to go 93-13 overall and 57-3 in conference play, and over the last six seasons are 143-27 (.841). Led by 21st-year head coach Diane Flick-Williams (460-112/.804) the Vikings have posted a 211-42 record over the last nine seasons (.834 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).