NAMPA, Idaho – Led by a 23-kill, 23-dig double-double by senior outside hitter Calley Heilborn, the No. 10 nationally-ranked Western Washington University volleyball team recorded a four-set road victory over Northwest Nazarene University Thursday evening in the Johnson Sports Center.
WWU improved to 16-5 overall and 11-2 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with the 25-17, 25-17, 23-25, 25-16 victory over NNU. The Vikings remain in second place in the GNAC with five regular-season matches remaining. NNU had its four-match winning streak snapped to fall to 16-6 overall and 9-5 in GNAC play (3rd place).
Heilborn notched a match-high 27.0 points, tallying 23 kills on a .561 hitting percentage, two service aces and a pair of block assists. The performance marked the second-most points scored during her four-year Viking career, falling just short of the 29.5 points in a five-set match at Alaska Fairbanks almost exactly a year ago (12/28/21). The double-double was Heilborn's team-best ninth of the season in 21 matches.
Senior middle Chloe Roetcisoender added 14 kills and four blocks for 16.0 points and sophomore opposite Gabby Kepley had 12 kills and three blocks. Senior middle Anna Maracich registered a career-high seven blocks and senior setter Malia Aleaga guided the Vikings offense to a .343 hitting percentage (2nd-highest of the season) with 53 assists.
"Tonight was a great team effort to get a nice road win against NNU," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "We got contributions across the board from everyone. Calley (Heilborn) was unstoppable tonight at the net and then followed it up with stopping their offense with her defense. It was an amazing match by Calley tonight."
NNU was led by a 15-kill, 14-dig double-double by Natalie Sullivan and 12 kills and four blocks by Olivia Wright. The Vikings limited the second-best hitting percentage team in the GNAC to a .169 hitting percentage for the Nighthawks fourth-lowest mark of the season. WWU out-blocked NNU 11-to-6.
The Vikings (16-5, 11-2 GNAC) remain on the road traveling to play Central Washington University in Ellensburg with first serve scheduled for 1 pm in the CWU Student Union & Recreation Center. The complete 2022 WWU Volleyball schedule, with links to statistics, webcasts, live stats and more can be found online at wwuvikings.com/VB.
Kills – Heilborn (23), Roetcisoender (14), Kepley (12)
Aces - Heilborn (2), Gunterman (1), Woodruff (1)
Blocks – Maracich (7), Roetcisoender (4), Heilborn (4)
Assists – Aleaga (53), Woodruff (1), Maracich (1)
Digs – Heilborn (23), Woodruff (14), Aleaga (9)
Points – Heilborn (27.0), Roetcisoender (16.0), Kepley (13.5), Maracich (11.0)
SERIES HISTORY VS. NORTHWEST NAZARENE
WWU completed the season sweep of NNU and have won 10 consecutive matches against the Nighthawks. The Vikings now lead the all-time series 45-9 with a 20-3 record in matches played in Nampa.
Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2022 season:
|
2022 RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall Record
|
16-5
|
|
Streak
|
W1
|
|
Home
|
10-1
|
|
Away
|
5-1
|
|
Neutral
|
1-3
|
|
GNAC Record
|
11-2
|
|
3-Set Matches
|
8-1
|
|
4-Set Matches
|
5-1
|
|
5-Set Matches
|
2-2
|
|
Ranked Opponents
|
2-5
|
|
Winning First Set
|
14-1
|
|
Dropping First Set
|
2-4
|
|
Record by Jersey
|
|
White
|
7-1
|
|
Light Blue
|
4-1
|
|
Dark Gray
|
5-0
|
|
Navy Blue
|
0-3
|
Here is a look at the updated records for the 10 GNAC volleyball programs following Thursday's matches. WWU remains in second place in the conference standings with a 11-2 GNAC mark:
|
GNAC VOLLEYBALL
|
CONF
|
PCT
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
1.
|
Alaska Anchorage
|
12-1
|
.923
|
22-2
|
.917
|
10-0
|
8-1
|
4-1
|
Won 1
|
|
2.
|
Western Washington
|
11-2
|
.846
|
16-5
|
.762
|
10-1
|
5-1
|
1-3
|
Won 1
|
|
3.
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
9-5
|
.643
|
16-6
|
.727
|
8-4
|
5-2
|
3-0
|
Lost 1
|
|
|
Central Washington
|
9-5
|
.643
|
14-8
|
.636
|
5-2
|
5-4
|
4-2
|
Won 2
|
|
5.
|
Seattle Pacific
|
8-6
|
.571
|
10-12
|
.455
|
5-2
|
3-7
|
2-3
|
Won 1
|
|
6.
|
Simon Fraser
|
6-7
|
.462
|
9-13
|
.409
|
5-2
|
1-6
|
3-5
|
Lost 1
|
|
7.
|
Alaska Fairbanks
|
5-8
|
.385
|
15-10
|
.600
|
8-3
|
3-6
|
4-1
|
Lost 2
|
|
|
Western Oregon
|
5-8
|
.385
|
9-12
|
.429
|
3-3
|
2-5
|
4-4
|
Won 2
|
|
9.
|
Saint Martin's
|
2-11
|
.154
|
12-11
|
.522
|
6-5
|
2-6
|
4-0
|
Lost 7
|
|
10.
|
Montana State Billings
|
0-14
|
.000
|
7-16
|
.304
|
5-6
|
1-9
|
1-1
|
Lost 9
|
|
This Week's GNAC Schedule
|
|
Thursday, October 27:
Western Washington 3, at Northwest Nazarene 1
at Western Oregon 3, Montana State Billings 1
Seattle Pacific 3, at Saint Martin's 1
at Central Washington 3, Simon Fraser 0
Saturday, October 29:
Simon Fraser at Northwest Nazarene, 1 pm MT
Western Washington at Central Washington, 1 pm
Alaska at Alaska Anchorage, 2 pm AKT
Montana State Billings at Saint Martin's, 5 pm
Seattle Pacific at Western Oregon, 7 pm
|
Here is a match-by-match look at the 2022 season following Thursday's 3-1 road victory over Northwest Nazarene. WWU is 16-5 overall and in second place in the GNAC with a 11-2 conference record:
|
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)
|
W
|
3-0
|
26-24,25-16,25-15
|
|
10/22
|
Alaska Anchorage (#9, GNAC)
|
L
|
3-1
|
12-25,16-25,25-21,23-25
|
|
10/27
|
at Northwest Nazarene (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-1
|
25-17,25-17,23-25,25-16
|
|
10/29
|
at Central Washington (GNAC)
|
|
|
1:00 pm
|
|
11/3
|
Western Oregon (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm – Carver Gym
|
|
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
|
