DENVER, Colo. – Playing in one of the toughest collegiate volleyball tournaments in the nation, the No. 3 nationally-ranked Western Washington University volleyball got off to a good start at the Colorado Premier Challenge with a five-set victory over No. 18 Lewis to open pool play on Friday.

The Vikings were down 2-1 against the Flyers, but captured the fourth and fifth sets in the come-from-behind 25-22, 22-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-9 victory. WWU improved to 5-0 on the season and 2-0 against teams ranked in the AVCA national top 25. Lewis dropped to 3-2 on the season with the five-set loss to the Vikings in a rematch of the 2018 NCAA Championships national semifinal won by WWU 3-1 in Pittsburgh.

WWU received a number of standout performances from its deep roster, led by double-double performances from senior outside hitters Calley Heilborn (14 kills, 21 digs) and Gabby Gunterman (10 kills, 12 digs). Senior middle Chloe Roetcisoender added 11 kills and three blocks, sophomore Gabby Kepley tallied a career-high 12 kills and senior middle Olivia Fairchild added 11 kills and two blocks for 12.0 points.

Redshirt freshman Devyn Oestreich sparked the Vikings in the fourth and fifth sets with five kills and a service ace. 

Senior libero Kasey Woodruff led all players with 24 digs (one off her career-high) and senior setter Malia Aleaga efficiently dished out 53 assists with five different players recording at least 10 kills.

"That was a gritty team performance today against a strong opponent in Lewis," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "We learned a lot of great things and never gave up. I thought Devyn (Oestreich) came in and gave us the lift we needed at a key time."

Lewis (3-2) was led by a match-high 19 kills on a .410 hitting percentage by Juliana Van Loo and 18 kills and 10 blocks by Bella Ray.

The Vikings (5-0) will now turn their attention to nine-time national champion and No. 6 nationally-ranked Concordia-St. Paul in a match that is scheduled to begin at 6 pm MT/5 pm PT on the Metropolitan State University Denver campus inside Auraria Event Center.
 

Kills – Heilborn (14), Kepley (12), Roetcisoender (11), Gunterman (10)

Aces – Gunterman (1), Oestreich (1)

Blocks – Roetcisoender (3), Aleaga (3), Fairchild (2)

Assists – Aleaga (53)

Digs – Woodruff (24), Heilborn (21), Lologo (15)

Points – Heilborn (15.0), Roetcisoender (12.5), Fairchild (12.0), Kepley (12.0), Gunterman (11.0)

The Vikings (5-0) are back in action tonight taking on No. 6 Concordia-St. Paul to complete the first day of the Colorado Premier Challenge. Following the completion of all matches in Denver on Friday, Saturday's schedule will be set with the Vikings playing two more matches to complete their non-conference schedule. The complete 2022 WWU Volleyball schedule, with links to statistics, webcasts, live stats and more can be found online at wwuvikings.com/VB.

The WWU volleyball program is in its 51st season and is nearing a historic milestone. The Vikings have an all-time record of 996-572-7 for a .635 winning percentage. 

WWU defeated Lewis in five sets to open the Colorado Premier Challenge to improve to 1-0 in matches that go the distance in 2022. The Vikings were 5-1 in five-set matches in 2021, including three 3-2 wins in GNAC play. WWU is 27-7 in five-set matches over the last eight seasons (since 2015), which includes a 17-4 mark over the last six seasons (since 2017).

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

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 four wins short of 1,000, with an all-time record of 996-572-7 (.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 (490-117/.807) the Vikings have posted a 241-47 record over the last 11 seasons (.837 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).