BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University volleyball team continued its torrid start in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play Saturday night recording a 3-0 sweep over visiting Simon Fraser University in front of a great crowd of 1,178 in Carver Gym.
The No. 9 nationally-ranked Vikings improved to 8-3 overall and 3-0 in GNAC play with the 25-16, 25-21, 25-20 straight-set sweep of the Red Leafs. The Vikings are now 7-0 in Carver Gym this season and have won 59 of the last 60 matches on WECU Court in Carver Gym dating back to the 2017 season. SFU dropped to 5-7 overall and 2-1 in GNAC play.
"Tonight we showed a very balanced offense led by Malia (Aleaga) and her smart choices. Our block really came to life tonight," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "A lot of the details we worked on in practice showed tonight in this match. I am looking forward to getting back in the gym with this team Monday to learn more and prepare for our upcoming road trip to Alaska."
Senior middle Olivia Fairchild led the Vikings with 12.5 points tallying 10 kills on a .500 hitting percentage and also had five blocks. Senior middle Chloe Roetcisoender added seven blocks and seven kills and sophomore Gabby Kepley registered five kills and five blocks. The Vikings out-blocked SFU 12.0-5.0 in the match.
Senior outside hitters Gabby Gunterman (8 kills, 11 digs) and Calley Heilborn (8 kills, 7 digs) each neared double-double performances. Senior libero Kasey Woodruff recorded another double-digit dig effort with 10 and senior setter Malia Aleaga paced the offense with 36 assists.
SFU outside hitter Brooke Dexter led the Red Leafs with 10 kills and Serena Gentile recorded a match-high 13 digs.
The Vikings (8-3, 3-0 GNAC) are on the next week with the annual trip to Alaska, facing nationally-ranked Alaska Anchorage (14-1, 4-0 GNAC) on Thursday and Alaska Fairbanks (12-4, 2-2 GNAC) on Saturday. The complete 2022 WWU Volleyball schedule, with links to statistics, webcasts, live stats and more can be found online at wwuvikings.com/VB.
Kills – Fairchild (10), Heilborn (8), Gunterman (8), Roetcisoender (7)
Aces - Aleaga (3), Lologo (1), Gunterman (1)
Blocks - Roetcisoender (7), Kepley (5), Fairchild (5)
Assists - Aleaga (36), Woodruff (1), Heilborn (1)
Digs - Gunterman (11), Woodruff (9), Lologo (9)
Points – Fairchild (12.5), Roetcisoender (11.5), Gunterman (9.5), Heilborn (9.0)
Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2022 season:
|
2022 RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall Record
|
8-3
|
|
Streak
|
W3
|
|
Home
|
7-0
|
|
Away
|
0-0
|
|
Neutral
|
1-3
|
|
GNAC Record
|
3-0
|
|
3-Set Matches
|
6-0
|
|
4-Set Matches
|
1-0
|
|
5-Set Matches
|
1-2
|
|
Ranked Opponents
|
2-3
|
|
Winning First Set
|
8-1
|
|
Dropping First Set
|
0-2
|
|
Record by Jersey
|
|
White
|
3-1
|
|
Light Blue
|
2-1
|
|
Dark Gray
|
3-0
|
|
Navy Blue
|
0-1
|
Here is a match-by-match look at the 2022 season following Saturday's match vs. 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
|
25-15,25-20,25-17j
|
|
9/17
|
Simon Fraser (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-16,25-21,25-20
|
|
9/22
|
at Alaska Anchorage (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm AKT
|
|
9/24
|
at Alaska Fairbanks (GNAC)
|
|
|
2:00 pm AKT
|
WWU is off to a 7-0 start to the season in home matches on WECU Court in Carver Gym, after recording a perfect 12-0 record last season. The Vikings have now won 28 consecutive matches in Carver Gym dating back to the 2019 season (last loss 11/14/19 vs. UAA in 5 sets). Western owns an all-time record of 303-82 (.787) in Carver Gym and since moving back into the renovated facility to start the 2017 season is 59-1. During the 23 seasons with head coach Diane Flick-Williams at the helm of the program the Vikings have combined to go 188-16 (.922) in Carver. Since debuting the new Taraflex court in 2021 the Vikings are a perfect 19-0.
SERIES HISTORY VS. SIMON FRASER
WWU improved to 72-34 all-time against Simon Fraser and extended its winning streak against the Red Leafs to 11 consecutive matches. The Vikings have also won 23 of the last 24 meetings in the series and has not lost to SFU in at least the last 24 home matches dating back to the 1990 season.
VIKINGS NEARING 1000 ALL-TIME WINS
The WWU volleyball program is in its 51st season and is nearing a historic milestone. The Vikings have recorded an all-time record of 999-575-7 for a .634 winning percentage. WWU is now just one victory short of the 1,000-win milestone in program history.
Here is a look updated records for the 10 GNAC volleyball programs following the Saturday's matches:
|
GNAC VOLLEYBALL
|
CONF
|
PCT
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
1.
|
Alaska Anchorage
|
4-0
|
1.000
|
14-1
|
.933
|
6-0
|
4-0
|
4-1
|
Won 6
|
|
|
Western Washington
|
3-0
|
1.000
|
8-3
|
.727
|
7-0
|
0-0
|
1-3
|
Won 3
|
|
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
3-0
|
1.000
|
10-1
|
.909
|
5-1
|
2-0
|
3-0
|
Won 8
|
|
4.
|
Simon Fraser
|
2-1
|
.667
|
5-7
|
.417
|
2-0
|
0-2
|
3-5
|
Lost 1
|
|
|
Central Washington
|
2-1
|
.667
|
7-4
|
.636
|
0-0
|
3-2
|
4-2
|
Won 2
|
|
6.
|
Alaska Fairbanks
|
2-2
|
.500
|
12-4
|
.750
|
5-1
|
3-2
|
4-1
|
Won 1
|
|
7.
|
Western Oregon
|
1-3
|
.250
|
5-7
|
.417
|
0-2
|
1-1
|
4-4
|
Lost 3
|
|
|
Seattle Pacific
|
1-3
|
.250
|
3-9
|
.250
|
1-1
|
0-5
|
2-3
|
Lost 1
|
|
9.
|
Saint Martin's
|
0-4
|
.000
|
9-4
|
.692
|
5-2
|
0-2
|
4-0
|
Lost 4
|
|
|
Montana State Billings
|
0-4
|
.000
|
6-5
|
.545
|
4-2
|
1-2
|
1-1
|
Lost 4
|
|
Saturday's GNAC Results
|
|
at Western Washington 3, Simon Fraser 0
Alaska Fairbanks 3, at Montana State Billings 0
Alaska Anchorage 3, at Seattle Pacific 2
Central Washington 3, at Saint Martin's 1
Northwest Nazarene 3, at Western Oregon 1
|
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 one win short of 1,000, with an all-time record of 999-574-7 (.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 (493-120/.804) the Vikings have posted a 244-50 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).
