SEATTLE, Wash. – The Western Washington University volleyball team continued its midseason surge with a 3-0 sweep over No. 21 nationally-ranked Seattle Pacific University Thursday evening inside Royal Brougham Pavilion.
The Vikings extended their winning streak to five consecutive matches with the 25-22, 25-20, 25-22 sweep to improve to 5-9 overall. WWU snapped SPU's 11-match winning streak and is nearly even with the Falcons in the GNAC standings in second place at 5-1 in conference play. A very young WWU squad has now played either ranked team in the national top 25 or receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll in 12 of 14 matches.
Redshirt freshman middle Emily Vossenkuhl led WWU's all-around team effort with a career-high 11 kills on a .667 attack percentage. Vossenkuhl added four blocks for a team-high 14.0 points. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Delaney Speer contributed eight kills, 12 digs and four blocks for 10.0 points.
"We continue to approach matches with a contribution from each person at different times," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "I thought we played composed especially in tight moments. Emily (Vossenkuhl) was awesome tonight. She was very effective offensively and her eye work on the block was outstanding."
The Vikings held a 55-48 advantage in digs in the match, with sophomore Devyn Oestreich leading the way with 15 digs. Redshirt freshman libero Finnley Claeys also had 14 digs. Sophomore setter Adele Holland ran the offense with 31 assists as the Vikings recorded their second-highest team hitting percentage of the season (.208).
SPU (12-3, 6-1 GNAC) was led by nine kills from Erin Smith and seven kills and seven digs by Sarah Brachvogel. The Falcons entered the match as the top blocking team in the nation, but WWU won the battle at the net with a 7.0-3.0 advantage in blocks.
Gallery: (10-5-2023) VB | WWU 3, SPU 0
WWU (5-9, 5-1 GNAC) remains on the road traveling to play at Montana State Billings (2-15, 0-7 GNAC) on Saturday with first serve scheduled for 1 pm MT/12 pm PT in Alterowitz Gym. The Vikings next home match is scheduled for Thursday, October 12 hosting Saint Martin's on WECU Court in Carver Gym. The complete 2023 WWU Volleyball schedule, with links to statistics, webcasts, live stats and more can be found online at wwuvikings.com/VB.
Kills – Vossenkuhl (11), Speer (8), Kepley (7)
Aces – Kepley (2), Holland (1), Oestreich (1)
Blocks – Speer (4), Vossenkuhl (4), Tri (3)
Assists – Holland (31)
Digs – Oestreich (15), Claeys (14), Speer (12)
Points – Vossenkuhl (14.0), Speer (10.0), Kepley (9.0), Oestreich (7.0)
Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and SPU:
|
COMPARISON
|
WWU
|
SPU
|
|
Attack Pct.
|
.208 (37-15-106)
|
.075 (32-23-120)
|
|
Kills
|
37
|
32
|
|
Assists
|
34
|
30
|
|
Service Aces
|
5
|
7
|
|
Solo Blocks
|
2
|
0
|
|
Block Assists
|
10
|
6
|
|
Total Blocks
|
7.0
|
3.0
|
|
Lead Changes: 6 Times Tied: 13
|
SERIES HISTORY VS. SEATTLE PACIFIC
The Vikings improved to 61-28 all-time vs. the Falcons and have a 25-3 record vs. SPU in the last 28 meetings…WWU has won its last 11 GNAC matches vs. the Falcons in Brougham Pavilion.
Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2023 season:
|
2023 RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall Record
|
5-9
|
|
Streak
|
W5
|
|
Home
|
2-0
|
|
Away
|
3-3
|
|
Neutral
|
0-6
|
|
GNAC Record
|
5-1
|
|
Non-Conference
|
0-8
|
|
3-Set Matches
|
2-5
|
|
4-Set Matches
|
1-4
|
|
5-Set Matches
|
2-0
|
|
Ranked Opponents
|
1-7
|
|
Winning First Set
|
3-2
|
|
Dropping First Set
|
2-7
|
|
Record by Jersey
|
|
White
|
2-2
|
|
Light Blue
|
0-2
|
|
Dark Gray
|
0-2
|
|
Navy Blue
|
3-3
|
Here is a look at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings following Thursday's matches. WWU in second place in the conference standings right behind SPU:
|
GNAC VOLLEYBALL
|
CONF
|
PCT
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
1.
|
Seattle Pacific
|
6-1
|
.857
|
12-3
|
.800
|
2-1
|
5-1
|
5-1
|
L1
|
|
2.
|
Western Washington
|
5-1
|
.833
|
5-9
|
.357
|
2-0
|
3-3
|
0-6
|
W5
|
|
3.
|
Central Washington
|
4-2
|
.667
|
10-4
|
.714
|
3-1
|
2-2
|
5-1
|
W2
|
|
|
Simon Fraser
|
4-2
|
.667
|
9-5
|
.643
|
2-1
|
4-3
|
3-1
|
W1
|
|
5.
|
Saint Martin's
|
3-3
|
.500
|
9-6
|
.600
|
2-1
|
3-2
|
4-3
|
W1
|
|
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
3-3
|
.500
|
7-7
|
.500
|
2-2
|
2-3
|
3-2
|
L1
|
|
7.
|
Western Oregon
|
2-4
|
.333
|
8-6
|
.571
|
1-3
|
2-2
|
5-1
|
L1
|
|
|
Alaska Anchorage
|
2-4
|
.333
|
10-11
|
.476
|
4-2
|
3-3
|
3-6
|
L2
|
|
|
Alaska Fairbanks
|
2-4
|
.333
|
9-11
|
.450
|
4-6
|
2-2
|
3-3
|
W2
|
|
10.
|
Montana State Billings
|
0-7
|
.000
|
2-15
|
.118
|
2-7
|
0-6
|
0-3
|
L14
|
|
This Week's GNAC Schedule
|
|
Thursday, October 5:
Western Washington 3, at Seattle Pacific
at Saint Martin's 3, Alaska Anchorage 1
Simon Fraser 3, at Montana State Billings 0
Alaska Fairbanks 3, at Western Oregon 0
Saturday, October 7:
Western Washington at Montana State Billings, 1 pm MT
Northwest Nazarene at Central Washington, 1 pm
Alaska Fairbanks at Saint Martin's, 1 pm
Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific, 2 pm
Alaska Anchorage at Western Oregon, 7 pm
|
Here is a match-by-match look at the 2023 season with current results and the schedule:
|
Date
|
Opponent
|
|
Score
|
Score-by-set
|
|
Yotes Classic Showcase (San Bernardino, CA)
|
|
8/31
|
Regis (#18)
|
L
|
3-1
|
22-25,25-20,15-25,20-25
|
|
8/31
|
Cal State San Bernardino (#19)
|
L
|
3-0
|
22-25,11-25,17-25
|
|
9/1
|
Cal State LA (#9)
|
L
|
3-0
|
17-25,15-25,18-25
|
|
9/2
|
MSU Denver (#3)
|
L
|
3-0
|
19-25,11-25,15-25
|
|
Colorado Premier Challenge (Denver, CO)
|
|
9/8
|
Ferris State (RV)
|
L
|
3-0
|
13-25,22-25,11-25
|
|
9/8
|
Concordia St. Paul (#2)
|
L
|
3-1
|
25-16,15-25,20-25,23-25
|
|
9/9
|
MSU Denver (#6)
|
L
|
3-0
|
20-25,14-25,13-25
|
|
9/9
|
Texas-Tyler (RV)
|
L
|
3-1
|
26-24,17-25,23-25,26-28
|
|
Great Northwest Athletic Conference
|
|
9/14
|
@Central Washington (#13) (GNAC)
|
L
|
3-1
|
15-25,15-25,25-22,23-25
|
|
9/16
|
@Northwest Nazarene (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-2
|
18-25,19-25,25-21,25-16,15-12
|
|
9/21
|
Alaska Anchorage (RV) (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-1
|
18-25,25-23,25-20,27-25
|
|
9/23
|
Alaska Fairbanks (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-2
|
25-11,16-25,25-19,18-25,15-11
|
|
9/30
|
@Simon Fraser (RV) (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-22,25-22,25-22
|
|
10/5
|
@Seattle Pacific (#21) (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-22,25-20,25-22
|
|
10/7
|
@MSU Billings (GNAC)
|
|
|
1:00 pm MT – Billings, MT
|
|
10/12
|
Saint Martin's (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm – Carver Gym
|
|
10/14
|
Western Oregon (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm – Carver Gym
|
|
10/19
|
@Alaska Fairbanks (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm AKT – Fairbanks, AK
|
|
10/21
|
@Alaska Anchorage (GNAC)
|
|
|
2:00 pm AKT – Anchorage, AK
|
|
10/28
|
Simon Fraser (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm – Carver Gym
|
|
11/2
|
MSU Billings (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm – Carver Gym
|
|
11/4
|
Seattle Pacific (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm – Carver Gym
|
|
11/9
|
@Western Oregon (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm – Monmouth, OR
|
|
11/11
|
@Saint Martin's (GNAC)
|
|
|
1:00 pm – Lacey, WA
|
|
11/16
|
Northwest Nazarene (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm – Carver Gym
|
|
11/18
|
Central Washington (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm – Carver Gym
|
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 52nd season as a varsity intercollegiate sport in 2023, rising to an elite level by advancing to the NCAA Division II Championships in each of the last 10 seasons and 16 of the last 21 dating back to the 2001 season. The program has recorded 1,016 all-time wins (1016-587-7). The winner of 11 Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the Vikings have four of the last five 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 24th-year head coach Diane Flick-Williams (511-132) the Vikings have posted a 262-62 record over the last 12 seasons and played in the NCAA II West Region championship match five out of the last seven 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).
