BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 12 nationally-ranked Western Washington University volleyball team defeated Northwest Nazarene University in straight sets Saturday evening on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
The Vikings improved to 11-4 overall, 6-1 in GNAC play and a perfect 9-0 in Carver Gym this season with the 25-22, 25-19, 25-18 sweep of the Nighthawks. Saturday's match was the annual Pink Night promotion raising awareness for Breast Cancer Research.
Sophomore pin hitter Gabby Kepley tied her career-high with 13 kills and tallied three block assists for 14.5 points. Senior outside hitter Calley Heilborn inched closer to the 1,000-kill milestone with seven kills, five digs and two blocks. Middles Chloe Roetcisoender and Olivia Fairchild each had four blocks as the Vikings held a 9-4 advantage in blocks.
"We played a solid match considering we had some heavy hearts as we played for a bigger cause on Pink Night," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "Gabby (Kepley) was outstanding tonight and really hit like a park sprinkler tonight all over the court."
Senior setter Malia Aleaga directed the offense to a .232 team hitting percentage with 28 assists and senior libero Kasey Woodruff led all players with 11 digs. Tupu Lologo and Gabby Gunterman each had a pair of service aces.
NNU (11-4, 4-3 GNAC) was led by nine kills from Olivia Wright and 10 digs by Miya Koch.
The Vikings (11-4, 6-1 GNAC) return to the road to open a string of three consecutive matches away from Bellingham, traveling to play at Saint Martin's in Lacey (Thursday, 7 pm) and Western Oregon in Monmouth (Saturday, 7 pm). The complete 2022 WWU Volleyball schedule, with links to statistics, webcasts, live stats and more can be found online at wwuvikings.com/VB.
Kills – Kepley (13), Heilborn (7), Roetcisoender (6)
Aces – Gunterman (2), Lologo (2), May (1)
Blocks – Roetcisoender (4), Fairchild (4), Gunterman (3)
Assists – Aleaga (28), Woodruff (3), Lologo (2)
Digs – Woodruff (11), Gunterman (8), Aleaga (7)
Points – Kepley (14.5), Heilborn (9.0), Roetcisoender (8.0), Fairchild (8.0), Gunterman (7.5)
Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2022 season:
|
2022 RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall Record
|
11-4
|
|
Streak
|
W3
|
|
Home
|
9-0
|
|
Away
|
1-1
|
|
Neutral
|
1-3
|
|
GNAC Record
|
6-1
|
|
3-Set Matches
|
7-1
|
|
4-Set Matches
|
3-0
|
|
5-Set Matches
|
1-2
|
|
Ranked Opponents
|
2-4
|
|
Winning First Set
|
10-1
|
|
Dropping First Set
|
1-3
|
|
Record by Jersey
|
|
White
|
5-1
|
|
Light Blue
|
3-1
|
|
Dark Gray
|
3-0
|
|
Navy Blue
|
0-2
|
Here is a match-by-match look at the 2022 season following Saturday's 3-0 victory over NNU:
|
Date
|
Opponent
|
|
Score
|
Score-by-set
|
|
8/25
|
Ferris State (#20)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-8,25-19,29-27
|
|
8/25
|
Sonoma State
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-20,25-21,25-20
|
|
8/26
|
Regis (RV)
|
W
|
3-1
|
25-16,18-25,27-25,25-21
|
|
8/27
|
Cal State LA (RV)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-20,25-21,26-24
|
|
9/2
|
Lewis (#18)
|
W
|
3-2
|
25-22,22-25,22-25,25-21,15-9
|
|
9/2
|
Concordia-St. Paul (#6)
|
L
|
2-3
|
19-25,25-21,12-25,25-19,12-15
|
|
9/3
|
NW Missouri State (#10)
|
L
|
1-2
|
25-22,16-25,16-25,21-25
|
|
9/3
|
West Florida (#5)
|
L
|
2-3
|
23-25,20-25,25-21,25-22,19-21
|
|
9/8
|
Seattle Pacific (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-19,25-17,25-23
|
|
9/10
|
Montana St. Billings (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-15,25-20,25-17
|
|
9/17
|
Simon Fraser (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-16,25-21,25-20
|
|
9/22
|
at Alaska Anchorage (#14, GNAC)
|
L
|
0-3
|
22-25,19-25,22-25
|
|
9/24
|
at Alaska Fairbanks (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-1
|
25-23,25-15,20-25,25-17
|
|
9/29
|
Central Washington (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-1
|
21-25,25-23,25-19,25-18
|
|
10/1
|
Northwest Nazarene (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-22,25-19,25-18
|
|
10/6
|
at Saint Martin's (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm – Lacey, WA
|
|
10/8
|
at Western Oregon (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm – Monmouth, OR
|
SERIES HISTORY VS. NORTHWEST NAZARENE
WWU extended its winning streak over Northwest Nazarene to nine consecutive matches and leads the all-time series 44-9…the Vikings also leads the series 19-4 in matches played in Bellingham and now have a 10-match winning streak over the Nighthawks in Carver Gym.
WWU is off to an 9-0 start to the season in home matches on WECU Court in Carver Gym, after recording a perfect 12-0 record last season. The Vikings have now won 30 consecutive matches in Carver Gym dating back to the 2019 season (last loss 11/14/19 vs. UAA in 5 sets). Western owns an all-time record of 305-82 (.788) in Carver Gym and since moving back into the renovated facility to start the 2017 season is 61-1. During the 23 seasons with head coach Diane Flick-Williams at the helm of the program the Vikings have combined to go 190-16 (.922) in Carver. Since debuting the new Taraflex court in 2021 the Vikings are a perfect 21-0.
Here is a look at the updated records for the 10 GNAC volleyball programs following play Saturday night:
|
GNAC VOLLEYBALL
|
CONF
|
PCT
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
1.
|
Alaska Anchorage
|
7-0
|
1.000
|
17-1
|
.944
|
8-0
|
5-0
|
4-1
|
Won 9
|
|
2.
|
Western Washington
|
6-1
|
.857
|
11-4
|
.733
|
9-0
|
1-1
|
1-3
|
Won 3
|
|
3.
|
Seattle Pacific
|
5-3
|
.625
|
7-9
|
.438
|
3-1
|
2-5
|
2-3
|
Won 4
|
|
4.
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
4-3
|
.571
|
11-4
|
.733
|
6-2
|
2-2
|
3-0
|
Lost 2
|
|
|
Central Washington
|
4-3
|
.571
|
9-6
|
.600
|
1-1
|
4-3
|
4-2
|
Won 1
|
|
6.
|
Alaska Fairbanks
|
3-4
|
.429
|
13-6
|
.684
|
6-3
|
3-2
|
4-1
|
Lost 2
|
|
|
Simon Fraser
|
3-4
|
.429
|
6-10
|
.375
|
3-1
|
0-4
|
3-5
|
Lost 1
|
|
8.
|
Saint Martin's
|
2-5
|
.286
|
12-5
|
.706
|
6-2
|
2-3
|
4-0
|
Lost 1
|
|
|
Western Oregon
|
2-5
|
.286
|
6-9
|
.400
|
0-2
|
2-3
|
4-4
|
Won 1
|
|
10.
|
Montana State Billings
|
0-8
|
.000
|
7-9
|
.438
|
5-4
|
1-4
|
1-1
|
Lost 2
|
|
This Week's GNAC Schedule
|
|
Thursday, September 29:
at #12 Western Washington 3, Central Washington 1
Saint Martin's 3, at Montana State Billings 0
at Seattle Pacific 3, Western Oregon 1
at Simon Fraser 3, Northwest Nazarene 1
Saturday, October 1:
Western Oregon 3, at Montana State Billings 0
#11 Alaska Anchorage 3, at Alaska Fairbanks 0
at Seattle Pacific 3, Saint Martin's 0
Central Washington 3, at Simon Fraser 2
at #12 Western Washington 3, Northwest Nazarene 0
|
The Vikings have now won 102 of their last 120 matches dating back to the 2018 season (102-18/.850) when the Vikings were the NCAA II national runner-up. WWU is also 129-22 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.
The WWU Volleyball program is in its 51st season as a varsity intercollegiate sport in 2022, rising to an elite level by advancing to the NCAA Division II Championships in each of the last nine seasons and 15 of the last 20 dating back to the 2001 season. The program has recorded 1,002 all-time wins (1002-576-7/.634). The winner of 11 Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the Vikings have won the last four GNAC titles with a perfect 19-1 record in 2017, perfect 20-0 mark in 2018, an 18-2 league record in 2019 and clinched the four-peat with a 17-1 record in 2021. Led by 23rd-year head coach Diane Flick-Williams (496-121/.804) the Vikings have posted a 247-51 record over the last 11 seasons (.829 winning percentage) and played in the NCAA II West Region championship match five out of the last six seasons (2015-21), winning titles in 2015, 2018 and 2021 (also 2007). 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 three of the past six seasons (2015, 2018, 2021).
