DENVER, Colo. – In a battle of perennial national powers and top-10 ranked teams, the No. 3 Western Washington University Vikings dropped a five-set thriller to No. 6 Concordia-St. Paul Friday evening to cap the first day of competition at the Colorado Premier Challenge.

The Vikings (5-1) played their second five-set match of the day after defeating No. 18 Lewis earlier in the day in the top NCAA II volleyball tournament in the nation with the 12-team field featuring 10 ranked teams. WWU lost its first match of the young season by scores of 19-25, 25-21, 12-25, 25-19, 12-15.

"Concordia is a perfect team to play for us to learn and grow," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "We battled hard and now know it takes more consistency day in and day out to compete at the top. We are looking forward to tomorrow and getting back on the court."

WWU will now advance to the silver bracket in the Colorado Premier Challenge facing No. 10 Northwest Missouri State on Saturday at 11:30 am MT/10:30 am PT on the campus of Regis University in Denver. 

Western was led by double-doubles by senior outside hitters Gabby Gunterman (13 kills, 18 digs) and Calley Heilborn (13 kills, 15 digs). Senior middle Chloe Roetcisoender added 10 kills and five blocks for 13.5 points. Senior middle Olivia Fairchild added a team-high nine blocks.

Concordia featured a balanced offensive attack with five players combining for 69 of the team's 71 kills, with Jasmine Mulvihill, Kennedy Brady and Emma Schmidt all tallying 15 kills to lead the Golden Bears. Setter Teagan Starkey recorded 62 assists for CSP. The Golden Bears are nine-time NCAA Division II national champions.

Kills – Gunterman (13), Heilborn, Calley (13), Roetcisoender, Chloe (10)

Aces – Aleaga (2), Gunterman (1), Heilborn (1)

Blocks – Fairchild (9), Roetcisoender (5), Heilborn (5)

Assists – Aleaga (35), Lologo (4), Woodruff (3)

Digs – Gunterman (18), Heilborn (15), Woodruff (11)

Points – Heilborn (16.5), Gunterman (16.0), Roetcisoender (13.5), Kepley (8.5), Fairchild (8.0)

The Vikings (5-1) advance to the silver bracket of the Colorado Premier Challenge as the No. 2 team out of the Pool 1. WWU will face No. 10 Northwest Missouri State at 11:30 am MT/10:30 am PT on the Regis University campus in Denver. The other silver bracket match features No. 5 West Florida and Regis (9 am MT/8 am PT). The third-place silver match is scheduled for 2:30 pm MT/1:30 pm PT and the first-place match is at 5 pm MT/4 pm PT. 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 996-573-7 for a .634 winning percentage. 

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 996-573-7 (.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 (490-118/.806) the Vikings have posted a 241-48 record over the last 11 seasons (.834 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).