BURNABY, B.C. – Led by a career-high 17 kills from Gabby Kepley and a 16-kill, 17-dig double-double by Calley Heilborn, the No. 11 nationally-ranked Western Washington University volleyball team won a five-set battle over Simon Fraser University Saturday evening in West Gym.
WWU won its sixth consecutive match to improve to 14-4 overall and remains in second place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 9-1 record. Game scores were 23-25, 25-22, 25-18, 23-25, 15-8 as the Vikings secured the season sweep of the Red Leafs.
"Tonight was a great battle and Simon Fraser really played us tough. They are a heck of a team and fought really hard," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams, who is one win short of 500 for her career. "I am proud of our team for hanging in there in a really tough place to play."
Kepley recorded her 17 kills on a .282 hitting percentage, also adding six digs and three blocks. Heilborn tallied her team-leading eighth double-double and finished with 20.5 points also contributing three service aces and three block assists.
Senior middle Chloe Roetcisoender had a solid match with 12 kills and six blocks. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Devyn Oestreich sparked the Vikings with eight kills and 11 digs. Senior setter Malia Aleaga dished out 46 assists and contributed a career-high 19 digs. Senior libero Kasey Woodruff led the Vikings with 20 digs and redshirt freshman Abby May had four service aces.
"Gabby (Kepley) was outstanding tonight and Chloe (Roetcisoender) was awesome as always," added Flick-Williams. "I am proud of Devyn (Oestreich) for coming in and bringing some stability to the court. And Abby (May) gave us some real momentum from the service line in the third set."
SFU was led by a 17-kill, 17-dig double-double by Jocelyn Sherman and 12 kills and 10 digs by Brooke Dexter.
The Vikings (14-4, 9-1 GNAC) return home to host the Alaska schools this week in Carver Gym, playing Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday and No. 9 Alaska Anchorage on Saturday. Both matches feature a 7 pm first serve on WECU Court in Carver Gym. 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 (17), Heilborn (16), Roetcisoender (12), Oestreich (8)
Aces – May (4), Heilborn (3), Gunterman (1)
Blocks – Roetcisoender (6), Heilborn (3), Kepley (3)
Assists – Aleaga (46), Roetcisoender (4), Woodruff (4)
Digs – Woodruff (20), Aleaga (19), Heilborn (17)
Points – Heilborn (20.5), Kepley (19.0), Roetcisoender (16.0), Oestreich (8.0)
Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2022 season:
|
2022 RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall Record
|
14-4
|
|
Streak
|
W6
|
|
Home
|
9-0
|
|
Away
|
4-1
|
|
Neutral
|
1-3
|
|
GNAC Record
|
9-1
|
|
3-Set Matches
|
7-1
|
|
4-Set Matches
|
4-0
|
|
5-Set Matches
|
2-2
|
|
Ranked Opponents
|
2-4
|
|
Winning First Set
|
12-1
|
|
Dropping First Set
|
2-3
|
|
Record by Jersey
|
|
White
|
6-1
|
|
Light Blue
|
4-1
|
|
Dark Gray
|
4-0
|
|
Navy Blue
|
0-2
|
SERIES HISTORY VS. SIMON FRASER
The Vikings swept the season series against SFU also winning 3-0 in Bellingham on September 17 (25-16, 25-21, 25-20). Saturday's win in Burnaby extended WWU's lead in the all-time series to 73-34. The Vikings have now won 12 consecutive matches over the Red Leafs and 24 of the last 25 in the series.
Here is a look at the updated records for the 10 GNAC volleyball programs following Saturday's matches:
|
GNAC VOLLEYBALL
|
CONF
|
PCT
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
1.
|
Alaska Anchorage
|
11-0
|
1.000
|
21-1
|
.955
|
10-0
|
7-0
|
4-1
|
Won 13
|
|
2.
|
Western Washington
|
9-1
|
.900
|
14-4
|
.778
|
9-0
|
4-1
|
1-3
|
Won 6
|
|
3.
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
7-4
|
.636
|
14-5
|
.737
|
8-3
|
3-2
|
3-0
|
Won 2
|
|
|
Central Washington
|
7-4
|
.636
|
12-7
|
.632
|
4-2
|
4-3
|
4-2
|
Won 3
|
|
5.
|
Seattle Pacific
|
6-5
|
.545
|
8-11
|
.421
|
4-1
|
2-7
|
2-3
|
Lost 2
|
|
6.
|
Alaska Fairbanks
|
5-6
|
.455
|
15-8
|
.652
|
8-3
|
3-4
|
4-1
|
Won 2
|
|
7.
|
Simon Fraser
|
4-6
|
.400
|
7-12
|
.368
|
3-2
|
1-5
|
3-5
|
Lost 1
|
|
8.
|
Western Oregon
|
3-8
|
.273
|
7-12
|
.368
|
1-3
|
2-5
|
4-4
|
Lost 3
|
|
9.
|
Saint Martin's
|
2-9
|
.182
|
12-9
|
.571
|
6-4
|
2-5
|
4-0
|
Lost 5
|
|
10.
|
Montana State Billings
|
0-11
|
.000
|
7-12
|
.368
|
5-4
|
1-7
|
1-1
|
Lost 5
|
|
This Week's GNAC Schedule
|
|
Thursday, October 13:
at Alaska Fairbanks 3, Montana State Billings 0
at #9 Alaska Anchorage 3, Seattle Pacific 0
at Central Washington 3, Saint Martin's 0
at Northwest Nazarene 3, Western Oregon 1
Saturday, October 15:
at Northwest Nazarene 3, Saint Martin's 0
at Central Washington 3, Western Oregon 0
at Alaska Fairbanks 3, Seattle Pacific 2
at #9 Alaska Anchorage 3, Montana State Billings 0
#11 Western Washington 3, at Simon Fraser 2
|
Here is a match-by-match look at the 2022 season heading into the second half of the GNAC schedule. WWU is 14-4 overall and 9-1 in GNAC following Saturday's 3-2 road win over Simon Fraser:
|
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)
|
W
|
3-1
|
25-17,25-12,16-25,25-19
|
|
10/8
|
at Western Oregon (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-18,25-22,25-21
|
|
10/15
|
at Simon Fraser (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-2
|
23-25,25-22,25-18,23-25,15-8
|
|
10/20
|
Alaska Fairbanks (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm – Carver Gym
|
|
10/22
|
Alaska Anchorage (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm – Carver Gym
|
|
10/27
|
at Northwest Nazarene (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm MT
|
|
10/29
|
at Central Washington (GNAC)
|
|
|
1:00 pm
|
|
11/3
|
Western Oregon (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
11/5
|
Saint Martin's (GNAC)
|
|
|
5:00 pm – Carver Gym
|
|
11/10
|
at Montana St. Billings (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm MT
|
|
11/12
|
at Seattle Pacific (GNAC)
|
|
|
2:00 pm
|
WWU evened its season record in five-set matches at 2-2, going the distance for the first time in GNAC play this season in Saturday's 23-25, 25-22, 25-18, 23-25, 15-8 victory at SFU. Over the last eight seasons (since 2015) the Vikings have combined to go 28-9 (.757) in five-set matches, with a 18-6 record since 2017.
The Vikings have now won 105 of their last 123 matches dating back to the 2018 season (105-18/.184) when the Vikings were the NCAA II national runner-up. WWU is also 132-22 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 1,005 all-time wins (1005-576-7/.635). 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 (499-121/.805) the Vikings have posted a 250-51 record over the last 11 seasons (.831 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).
