ANCHORAGE – In a battle of Great Northwest Athletic Conference powerhouses both ranked nationally in the top 15, host No. 14 Alaska Anchorage defeated No. 10 Western Washington Thursday night in the Alaska Airlines Center.
WWU endured its first GNAC defeat of the season falling to UAA 25-22, 25-19, 25-22 to fall to 8-4 overall and 3-1 in conference play. All four of the Vikings losses this season have come against ranked teams in the national top 15 (four in top 10). The three-set setback snapped a string of 103 consecutive conference matches without a 3-0 loss dating back to the end of the 2015 season (11/14/15 vs. UAA). The Seawolves gained sole possession of first place early in the GNAC season improving to 15-1 overall and 5-0 in league play.
The Vikings were led by 10.5 points from senior middle Olivia Fairchild, who totaled eight kills (.238) and five blocks. Senior outside hitter Calley Heilborn neared a double-double with nine kills and 13 digs and senior libero Kasey Woodruff led the team with 14 digs. Senior outside hitter Gabby Gunterman fell one short of a career high with four service aces.
UAA was led by 21 kills by senior outside hitter Eve Stephens, eight kills by Lisa Jaunet and a 32-assist, 16-dig double-double by setter Ellen Floyd.
The Vikings (8-4, 3-1 GNAC) conclude their trip to Alaska facing Alaska Fairbanks (13-4, 3-2 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 – Heilborn (9), Fairchild (8), Gunterman (5)
Aces – Gunterman (4)
Blocks – Fairchild (5), Kepley (4), Aleaga (3)
Assists – Aleaga (27)
Digs – Woodruff (14), Heilborn (13), Aleaga (8)
Points – Fairchild (10.5), Heilborn (9.5), Gunterman (9.0), Kepley (6.0)
Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2022 season:
|
2022 RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall Record
|
8-4
|
|
Streak
|
L1
|
|
Home
|
7-0
|
|
Away
|
0-1
|
|
Neutral
|
1-3
|
|
GNAC Record
|
3-1
|
|
3-Set Matches
|
6-1
|
|
4-Set Matches
|
1-0
|
|
5-Set Matches
|
1-2
|
|
Ranked Opponents
|
2-4
|
|
Winning First Set
|
8-1
|
|
Dropping First Set
|
0-3
|
|
Record by Jersey
|
|
White
|
3-1
|
|
Light Blue
|
2-1
|
|
Dark Gray
|
3-0
|
|
Navy Blue
|
0-2
|
Here is a match-by-match look at the 2022 season following Thursday's match at No. 14 Alaska Anchorage:
|
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)
|
|
|
2:00 pm AKT
|
|
9/29
|
Central Washington (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm – Carver Gym
|
|
10/1
|
Northwest Nazarene (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm – Carver Gym
|
SERIES HISTORY VS. ALASKA ANCHORAGE
Despite Thursday's loss to UAA, WWU continues to lead the all-time series 38-20 with a 21-11 mark in matches played in Anchorage. The Vikings are 8-3 in the last 11 matches vs. the Seawolves in Anchorage and are now 6-3 vs. UAA in nine matches in the Alaska Airlines Center (opened in 2014).
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 999-576-7 for a .634 winning percentage. WWU is 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 Thursday's matches to open the third week of the conference schedule:
|
GNAC VOLLEYBALL
|
CONF
|
PCT
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
1.
|
Alaska Anchorage
|
5-0
|
1.000
|
15-1
|
.938
|
7-0
|
4-0
|
4-1
|
Won 7
|
|
2.
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
3-1
|
.750
|
10-2
|
.833
|
5-2
|
2-0
|
3-0
|
Lost 1
|
|
|
Western Washington
|
3-1
|
.750
|
8-4
|
.667
|
7-0
|
0-1
|
1-3
|
Lost 1
|
|
|
Central Washington
|
3-1
|
.750
|
8-4
|
.667
|
1-0
|
3-2
|
4-2
|
Won 3
|
|
5.
|
Alaska Fairbanks
|
3-2
|
.600
|
13-4
|
.765
|
6-1
|
3-2
|
4-1
|
Won 2
|
|
6.
|
Simon Fraser
|
2-2
|
.500
|
5-8
|
.385
|
2-0
|
0-3
|
3-5
|
Lost 2
|
|
7.
|
Seattle Pacific
|
2-3
|
.400
|
4-9
|
.308
|
1-1
|
1-5
|
2-3
|
Won 1
|
|
8.
|
Western Oregon
|
1-3
|
.250
|
5-7
|
.417
|
0-2
|
1-1
|
4-4
|
Lost 3
|
|
9.
|
Saint Martin's
|
0-4
|
.000
|
10-4
|
.714
|
5-2
|
1-2
|
4-0
|
Won 1
|
|
10.
|
Montana State Billings
|
0-5
|
.000
|
6-6
|
.500
|
4-2
|
1-3
|
1-1
|
Lost 5
|
|
This Week's GNAC Schedule
|
|
Thursday, September 22:
at #14 Alaska Anchorage 3, #10 Western Washington 0
at Alaska Fairbanks 3, Simon Fraser 1
at Central Washington 3, Montana State Billings 1
Seattle Pacific 3, at Northwest Nazarene 1
Saturday, September 24:
#10 Western Washington at Alaska Fairbanks, 2 pm AKT
Montana State Billings at Northwest Nazarene, 1 pm MT
Western Oregon at Saint Martin's, 5 pm
Simon Fraser at #14 Alaska Anchorage, 7 pm AKT
Seattle Pacific at Central Washington, 7 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 is just one win short of 1,000, with an all-time record of 999-576-7 (.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 (493-121/.803) the Vikings have posted a 244-51 record over the last 11 seasons (.827 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).
