ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Western Washington University volleyball team dropped a four-set match on the road against Central Washington University Thursday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play in Nicholson Pavilion.
The No. 15 nationally-ranked Vikings were defeated 13-25, 25-19, 15-25, 23-25 to drop to 5-4 overall and 1-1 in GNAC play. CWU snapped a 10-match losing streak against the Vikings to improve to 6-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
Sophomore outside hitter
Calley Heilborn led the Vikings with her eighth double-double in nine matches, recording team-high totals with 13 kills (.306 hitting pct.) and 16 digs for 14.0 total points. Junior middle
Olivia Fairchild added 10 kills on a .500 hitting percentage and had a team-high five blocks. Sophomore libero
Kasey Woodruff added 15 digs.
The Wildcats were led by a 16-kill, 14-dig, 26-assist triple-double by Tia Andaya. Ashley Kaufman added 16 kills and nine digs and Marianna Payne had 13 kills and three blocks.
CWU out-hit the Vikings .266 to .184 in the match and held a 77-67 edge in digs. The match featured nine tie scores, but only one lead change. WWU nearly forced a deciding fifth set pulling to within one point several times late in the fourth set (last at 23-22 and 24-23), but CWU held off the Vikings for the 3-1 victory in front of a crowd of 1,638 fans.
The Vikings remain on the road closing out a string of seven consecutive matches away from Bellingham, traveling to play at Northwest Nazarene (1-8, 0-3 GNAC) on Saturday in Nampa, Idaho (1 pm MT/12 pm PT). WWU's extended road trip will feature matches in three different stats (Colorado, Washington, Idaho) and one province (British Columbia).
WWU STATISTICAL LEADERS
Kills - Heilborn (13), Fairchild (10), Gunterman (9)
Aces - Gunterman (1), Aleaga (1)
Blocks - Fairchild (5), Roetcisoender (3), Biscup (3)
Assists - Aleaga (38), Lologo (3)
Digs - Heilborn (16), Woodruff (15), Gunterman (12)
Points - Heilborn (14.0), Fairchild (13.0), Gunterman (11.0), Roetcisoender (8.0)
UP NEXT
The Vikings (5-4, 1-1 GNAC) remain on the road in GNAC play, traveling to play at Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho on Saturday (1 pm MT/12 pm PT). WWU returns home to WECU Court in Carver Gym after three weeks on the road to host the Alaska schools Thursday, September 30 (UAA) and Saturday, October 2 (UAF), with both matches featuring 7 pm first serve.
SERIES HISTORY VS. CENTRAL
WWU had its 10-match winning streak vs. CWU snapped and had a string of five consecutive wins in Ellensburg come to a close. WWU leads the all-time series vs. the Wildcats 75-44-1.
SEASON RESULTS
Here is a match-by-match look at the 2021 season through the first nine 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* |
|
|
|
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.
ABOUT WWU VOLLEYBALL
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 (465-116/.800) the Vikings have posted a 216-46 record over the last 10 seasons (.824 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).
