BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 3 nationally-ranked Western Washington University volleyball team closed out a perfect 4-0 start to the 2022 season in the WWU Invitational with a 3-0 sweep over Cal State Los Angeles Saturday evening on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
 
In a rematch of the 2021 NCAA II West Regional final won by the Vikings to punch their ticket to the Elite Eight, WWU got the big early-season in-region victory with scores of 25-20, 25-21, 26-24. The Vikings also defeated Sonoma State (3-0), Ferris State (3-0) and Regis (3-1) during the three-day, 12-match tournament in Carver Gym.
 
Two nights after recording her 1,000th career kill, senior outside hitter Gabby Gunterman led the team with 11 kills, two service aces and four digs. Senior middle Olivia Fairchild added seven kills on a .350 hitting percentage and senior setter Malia Aleaga dished out 26 assists.
 
"This was a really good opening weekend for our team against a very tough tournament field," said WWU's 23rd-year head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "I am proud of the way we played and the way we adjusted throughout the weekend. We came into the start of the season thinking we knew who we were, but we learned a lot about who we are with the way we played. It was a true WWU volleyball kind of weekend where it was a galaxy of stars. We had so many players make key contributions and step up in big moments that made for a successful tournament."
 
The Vikings strong defensive effort was led by four blocks from senior middle Chloe Roetcisoender and eight digs and three blocks from senior outside hitter Calley Heilborn. Senior libero Kasey Woodruff recorded a match-high 13 digs. WWU limited Cal State LA's Emily Elliott to nine kills, after the outside hitter tallied 26 kills in the Golden Eagles morning 3-2 win over Simon Fraser.
  The Vikings take to the road for the first time in 2022 playing in the Colorado Premier Challenge in Denver, Colorado next Friday-Saturday. WWU is scheduled to face a pair of nationally-ranked teams during the first day of pool play against No. 6 Concordia-St. Paul and No. 21 Lewis. The complete 2022 WWU Volleyball schedule, with links to statistics, webcasts, live stats and more can be found online at wwuvikings.com/VB.
  Kills – Gunterman (11), Fairchild (7), Heilborn (5)
Aces – Gunterman (2), May (2), Aleaga (1)
Blocks – Roetcisoender (4), Heilborn (3), Aleaga (2)
Assists – Aleaga (26), Heilborn (3), Roetcisoender (1)
Digs – Woodruff (13), Lologo (8), Heilborn (8)
Points – Gunterman (13.0), Fairchild (7.5), Heilborn (7.5), Roetcisoender (6.0)
  Here are the final results from the 12-match schedule for the WWU Invitational that featured four matches each day Thursday-Friday-Saturday in Carver Gym. All box scores and match replay links are available at wwuvikings.com/VBInvite.
 

Thursday, August 25
12:00 PM	Western Washington vs. Ferris State	WWU, 3-0
2:30 PM	Simon Fraser vs. Sonoma State	SSU, 3-1
5:00 PM	Cal State LA vs. Ferris State	CSLA, 3-2
7:30 PM	Western Washington vs. Sonoma State	WWU, 3-0
Friday, August 26
9:30 AM	Cal State LA vs. Regis	Regis, 3-1
12:00 PM	Sonoma State vs. Ferris State	SSU, 3-0
5:00 PM	Simon Fraser vs. Ferris State	SFU, 3-2
7:30 PM	Western Washington vs. Regis	WWU, 3-1
Saturday, August 27
9:30 AM	Simon Fraser vs. Cal State LA	CSLA, 3-2
12:00 PM	Sonoma State vs. Regis	SSU, 3-1
5:00 PM	Simon Fraser vs. Regis	SFU, 3-1
7:30 PM	Western Washington vs. Cal State LA	WWU, 3-0

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 is now just five wins short of 1,000, with an all-time record of 995-552-7 (.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 (489-117/.807) the Vikings have posted a 240-47 record over the last 11 seasons (.836 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).