BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Led by 21 kills from senior outside hitter Calley Heilborn, the No. 9 nationally-ranked Western Washington University volleyball team defeated Western Oregon University in four sets Thursday evening on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
The Vikings improved to 18-5 overall and remained in second place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings at 13-2 following the 22-5, 25-15, 25-21, 25-19 victory over the Wolves.
Heilborn backed up her GNAC Offensive Player of the Week performance from last week by totaling her 21 kills on a .400 hitting percentage, also adding nine digs, one service ace and one block for 22.5 total points.
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Devyn Oestreich stepped into a starting role and contributed a 11-kill, 14-dig double-double with a pair of service aces. Senior middle Chloe Roetcisoender neared a double-double with 10 kills and eight blocks and senior libero Kasey Woodruff recorded a match-high 21 digs.
"I am proud of the way we bounced back from the first set tonight and got contributions from a number of players," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "Calley (Heilborn) picked right up where she left off from last week, Kasey (Woodruff) was a digging machine and Chloe (Roetcisoender) was again a force in the middle. I also thought that Tupu (Lologo) did a number of great things and was very versatile tonight."
Senior defensive specialist Tupu Lologo totaled three service aces, five digs and recorded a career-high nine assists while stepping into the setter role midway through the fourth set. Senior setter Malia Aleaga ran the offense efficiently with 37 assists and added five blocks.
WWU hit .343 as a team to tie for the second-best hitting percentage of the season and held a 13-3 advantage at the net in team blocks.
Western Oregon (9-14, 5-10) had three players reach double-figures in kills, led by 15 from Bailee Hartsook and Delaney Smith. Libero Sophie Matlock led the Wolves with 19 digs.
The Vikings (18-5, 13-2 GNAC) closes out the home portion of the regular-season schedule Saturday hosting Saint Martin's for Senior Night. The match will start at 5 pm, with a short pregame senior night presentation, followed by a more extensive celebration after the match to honor the eight-player senior class. 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 (21), Oestreich (11), Roetcisoender (10)
Aces – Lologo (3), Oestreich (2), Heilborn (1)
Blocks – Roetcisoender (8), Aleaga (5), Maracich (4)
Assists – Aleaga (37), Lologo (9), Woodruff (4)
Digs – Woodruff (21), Oestreich (14), Heilborn (9)
Points – Heilborn (22.5), Roetcisoender (15.0), Oestreich (13.5)
SERIES HISTORY VS. WESTERN OREGON
WWU swept the season series vs. Western Oregon, winning 3-0 on the road and 3-1 in Thursday's home match. The Vikings have now won 21 consecutive matches against the Wolves and lead the all-time series 49-14. Thursday's victory also extended WWU's home winning streak against WOU to 25 consecutive matches.
The Vikings have now won 109 of their last 128 matches dating back to the 2018 season (109-19/.852) when the Vikings were the NCAA II national runner-up. WWU is also 136-23 dating back to the start of the 2017 season.
Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2022 season:
|
2022 RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall Record
|
18-5
|
|
Streak
|
W3
|
|
Home
|
11-1
|
|
Away
|
6-1
|
|
Neutral
|
1-3
|
|
GNAC Record
|
13-2
|
|
3-Set Matches
|
8-1
|
|
4-Set Matches
|
6-1
|
|
5-Set Matches
|
3-2
|
|
Ranked Opponents
|
2-5
|
|
Winning First Set
|
15-1
|
|
Dropping First Set
|
3-4
|
|
Record by Jersey
|
|
White
|
8-1
|
|
Light Blue
|
5-1
|
|
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, with WWU remaining in second place in the conference standings with a 13-2 GNAC mark:
|
GNAC VOLLEYBALL
|
CONF
|
PCT
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
1.
|
Alaska Anchorage
|
14-1
|
.933
|
24-2
|
.923
|
12-0
|
8-1
|
4-1
|
Won 3
|
|
2.
|
Western Washington
|
13-2
|
.867
|
18-5
|
.782
|
11-1
|
6-1
|
1-3
|
Won 3
|
|
3.
|
Central Washington
|
10-6
|
.625
|
15-9
|
.625
|
5-3
|
6-4
|
4-2
|
Won 1
|
|
4.
|
Seattle Pacific
|
9-6
|
.600
|
11-12
|
.478
|
5-2
|
4-7
|
2-3
|
Won 2
|
|
5.
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
9-7
|
.563
|
16-8
|
.667
|
8-5
|
5-3
|
3-0
|
Lost 3
|
|
6.
|
Simon Fraser
|
8-7
|
.533
|
11-13
|
.458
|
6-2
|
2-6
|
3-5
|
Won 2
|
|
7.
|
Alaska Fairbanks
|
5-10
|
.333
|
15-12
|
.556
|
8-4
|
3-7
|
4-1
|
Lost 4
|
|
8.
|
Western Oregon
|
5-10
|
.333
|
9-14
|
.391
|
3-4
|
2-6
|
4-4
|
Lost 2
|
|
9.
|
Saint Martin's
|
3-12
|
.200
|
13-12
|
.520
|
7-5
|
2-7
|
4-0
|
Lost 1
|
|
10.
|
Montana State Billings
|
0-15
|
.000
|
7-17
|
.292
|
5-6
|
1-10
|
1-1
|
Lost 10
|
|
This Week's GNAC Schedule
|
|
Thursday, November 3:
at Simon Fraser 3, Saint Martin's 1
at Alaska Anchorage 3, Northwest Nazarene 1
Central Washington 3, at Alaska Fairbanks 1
at Western Washington 3, Western Oregon 1
Saturday, November 5:
Seattle Pacific at Montana State Billings, 12:30 pm MT
Northwest Nazarene at Alaska Fairbanks, 2 pm AKT
Saint Martin's at Western Washington, 5 pm
Central Washington at Alaska Anchorage, 7 pm AKT
Western Oregon at Simon Fraser, 7 pm
|
Here is a match-by-match look at the 2022 season following Thursday's 3-1 victory Thursday in GNAC action:
|
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)
|
W
|
3-2
|
26-24,25-23,19-25,20-25,16-14
|
|
11/3
|
Western Oregon (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-1
|
22-25,25-15,25-21,25-19
|
|
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
|
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 1,009 all-time wins (1008-577-7/.636). 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 (503-122/.805) the Vikings have posted a 254-52 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).
