ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The No. 10 nationally-ranked Western Washington University volleyball team recorded a five-set victory over in-state rival Central Washington University Saturday afternoon in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play in the CWU Student Union and Recreation Center.

The Vikings defeated the Wildcats 26-24, 25-23, 19-25, 20-25, 16-14 in a match that featured 32 tie scores and 10 lead changes. WWU improved to 17-5 overall and 12-2 in GNAC play, with CWU moving to 14-9 overall and tied for third in the GNAC at 9-6.

"That was a great volleyball match by both sides. A tremendous battle as it always is with a tough program like Central," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "A good road trip to pick up two quality wins, and today was a really enjoyable team win."

Senior outside hitter Calley Heilborn capped a statistically dominating week recording a 22-kill, 19-dig double-double, adding five block assists for 24.5 total points. In Thursday's 3-1 win at Northwest Nazarene, Heilborn tallied a 23-kill, 23-dig double-double on a .561 hitting percentage.

Redshirt freshman outside hitter Devyn Oestreich stepped into a prominent role after senior All-American outside hitter Gabby Gunterman went down with an apparent ankle injury on the first play of the match. Oestreich recorded a 16-kill, 23-dig double-double, adding four blocks and one service aces.

Senior middle Anna Maracich capped a stellar week on the court with 13 kills on a .520 hitting percentage and a team-high six blocks. Senior middle Chloe Roetcisoender added 11 kills (.320) and five blocks. Senior setter Malia Aleaga paced the offense with 54 assists and contributed nine digs and one block.

"Calley (Heilborn) had another outstanding match on both sies of the ball…to put up two double-doubles like that in a row is really impressive and I am very proud of the work she has put in to make that possible," added Flick-Williams. "Anna (Maracich) was dialed in today and make key plays for us throughout the match. And Malia (Aleaga) was such a work horse on offense and put our hitters in the best places to shine. Lots of contributions throughout the roster and I was very proud of how Devyn (Oestreich) came in and gave us a really solid performance."

CWU was led by a 15-kill, 22-dig double-double by Kylie Thorne, an 18-kill, 18-dig double-double by Ashley Kaufman and nine kills and 23 assists by Tia Andaya. 

WWU won the first two sets to go up 2-0 via close scores of 26-24 and 25-23, battling through 20 ties scores and five lead changes. The Wildcats bounced back pushing the match to five sets winning the third and fourth sets, 25-19 and 25-20. 

In the deciding fifth stanza, won the race to the eighth point and held a 10-5 lead by going on a 6-0 run. CWU closed the gap going on a 5-1 run and scored three consecutive points to tie the set at 13-13. The Wildcats fended off one match point, but a service error and match-ending block by Gabby Kepley and Anna Maracich secured the five-set thriller for the Vikings.

The Vikings (17-5, 12-2 GNAC) have four regular-season matches remaining, closing out the home portion of the schedule next week hosting Western Oregon University on Thursday (7 pm) and Saint Martin's University for Senior & Alumni Night on Saturday (5 pm) on WECU Court in Carver Gym. The complete 2022 WWU Volleyball schedule, with links to purchase tickets, browse statistics and follow games via webcasts and live stats can be found online at wwuvikings.com/VB.

Kills – Heilborn (22), Oestreich (16), Maracich (13)

Aces – Woodruff (1), Aleaga (1), Oestreich (1)

Blocks – Maracich (6), Roetcisoender (5), Heilborn (5)

Assists – Aleaga (54), Lologo (5), Woodruff (4)

Digs – Oestreich (23), Heilborn (19), Woodruff (17)

Points – Heilborn (24.5), Oestreich (19.0), Maracich (16.0), Roetcisoender (13.5)

Earned the season sweep over the Wildcats also earning a 3-1 victory September 29 in Bellingham. WWU is 79-44-1 all-time vs. CWU and won 14 of the last 15 in the series dating back to the 2013 season.

WWU improved to 3-2 on the season in five-set matches, with a 2-0 record in GNAC play when going the distance. Over the last eight seasons (since 2015) the Vikings have combined to go 29-9 (.763) in five-set matches, with a 19-6 record since 2017.

The Vikings have now won 108 of their last 127 matches dating back to the 2018 season (108-19/.850) when the Vikings were the NCAA II national runner-up. WWU is also 135-23 dating back to the start of the 2017 season.

Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2022 season:

Here is a match-by-match look at the 2022 season following Saturday's 3-2 road victory over Central Washington. WWU is 17-5 overall and in second place in the GNAC with a 12-2 conference record:

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 1,008 all-time wins (1008-577-7/.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 (502-122/.804) the Vikings have posted a 253-52 record over the last 11 seasons (.830 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).