BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University volleyball team recorded its fifth consecutive victory with a four-set win – 25-17, 25-20, 22-25, 25-17 – over Northwest Nazarene University Thursday evening on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
The Vikings inched towards the .500 mark at 12-13 overall and remain alone in third place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 12-5 mark in league play. WWU closes out the 2023 season Saturday hosting rival Central Washington University on Senior Night with Kyle Honrud celebrated prior to the match.
Sophomore outside hitter Devyn Oestreich recorded her 11th double-double of the season with 14 kills (.306) and 14 digs, adding three blocks for 15.5 total points. Redshirt freshman middle Emily Vossenkuhl tallied 10 kills on a .500 attack percentage and recorded three blocks for 12.0 points.
Redshirt freshman libero Finnley Claeys had a match-high 21 digs and the setting combination of redshirt freshman Caroline Hansen (22 assists) and sophomore Adele Holland (19 assists) directed the Vikings to a .234 team hitting percentage, the third-best mark of the season. Sophomore Abby May (8 kills) and junior Gabby Kepley (7 kills, 3 blocks) each contributed 8.5 points in the victory.
"Devyn (Oestreich) and Voss (Emily Vossenkuhl) were great forces for us on offense tonight. They hit some great shots and were very efficient," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "Abby (May) thrived in yet another role and I appreciate her willingness to do what the team needs at any given moment. Finnley (Claeys) had a stellar defensive performance with great reads and pickups."
NNU (11-14, 7-10 GNAC) endured the season sweep by the Vikings. Londyn Giles led the Nighthawks with a 13-kill, 16-dig double-double and Miya Koch added 11 kills, five digs and four blocks.
WWU (12-13, 12-5 GNAC) closes out the 2023 regular season Saturday hosting Central Washington in a 7 pm match on WECU Court in Carver Gym. The match will serve with Senior Night for Kylie Honrud and an Alumni Appreciation event. The complete 2023 WWU Volleyball schedule, with links to statistics, webcasts, live stats and more can be found online at wwuvikings.com/VB.
Kills – Oestreich (14), Vossenkuhl (10), May (8)
Aces – Holland (3), Hansen (2), Claeys (1)
Blocks – Tri (5), Kepley (3), Oestreich (3)
Assists – Hansen (22), Holland (19), Tri (3)
Digs – Claeys (21), Oestreich (14), Speer (14)
Points – Oestreich (15.5), Vossenkuhl (12.0), Kepley (8.5), May (8.5), Speer (8.0)
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. NORTHWEST NAZARENE
WWU swept the season series vs. NNU also winning in five sets (reverse sweep) on September 16 in Nampa (18-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-16, 15-12). The Vikings have now won the last 12 matches vs. the Nighthawks and are 47-9 all-time in the 56 head-to-head meetings. Western has also won seven straight home matches against NNU and extended its Carver Gym winning streak to 11 consecutive over the Nighthawks.
Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Northwest Nazarene:
|
COMPARISON
|
WWU
|
NNU
|
|
Attack Pct.
|
.234 (51-19-137)
|
.118 (42-25-144)
|
|
Kills
|
51
|
42
|
|
Assists
|
48
|
42
|
|
Service Aces
|
6
|
5
|
|
Solo Blocks
|
1
|
1
|
|
Block Assists
|
14
|
16
|
|
Total Blocks
|
8.0
|
9.0
|
|
Tie Scores: 14 Lead Changes: 7
|
Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2023 season:
|
2023 RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall Record
|
12-13
|
|
Streak
|
W5
|
|
Home
|
6-2
|
|
Away
|
6-5
|
|
Neutral
|
0-6
|
|
GNAC Record
|
12-5
|
|
Non-Conference
|
0-8
|
|
3-Set Matches
|
5-6
|
|
4-Set Matches
|
4-4
|
|
5-Set Matches
|
3-3
|
|
Ranked Opponents
|
2-7
|
|
Winning First Set
|
8-5
|
|
Dropping First Set
|
4-8
|
|
Record by Jersey
|
|
White
|
6-4
|
|
Light Blue
|
0-3
|
|
Dark Gray
|
0-2
|
|
Navy Blue
|
6-4
|
Here is a look updated records for the 10 GNAC volleyball programs following play on Thursday during the final week of the 2023 regular season. WWU remains in third place in the standings with a 12-5 mark heading into Saturday's season finale vs. second-place Central Washington:
|
GNAC VOLLEYBALL
|
CONF
|
PCT
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
1.
|
Seattle Pacific
|
15-2
|
.882
|
21-4
|
.840
|
7-1
|
9-2
|
5-1
|
W2
|
|
2.
|
Central Washington
|
13-4
|
.765
|
19-6
|
.760
|
7-2
|
7-3
|
5-1
|
L1
|
|
3.
|
Western Washington
|
12-5
|
.706
|
12-13
|
.480
|
6-2
|
6-5
|
0-6
|
W5
|
|
4.
|
Simon Fraser
|
10-7
|
.588
|
15-10
|
.600
|
5-3
|
7-6
|
3-1
|
L1
|
|
5.
|
Saint Martin's
|
9-8
|
.529
|
16-11
|
.593
|
7-3
|
5-5
|
4-3
|
L2
|
|
6.
|
Alaska Anchorage
|
8-10
|
.444
|
16-17
|
.485
|
8-5
|
5-6
|
3-6
|
W1
|
|
7.
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
7-10
|
.412
|
11-14
|
.440
|
4-5
|
4-7
|
3-2
|
L2
|
|
8.
|
Alaska Fairbanks
|
7-11
|
.389
|
14-18
|
.438
|
7-9
|
4-6
|
3-3
|
L1
|
|
9.
|
Western Oregon
|
4-13
|
.235
|
10-15
|
.400
|
1-8
|
4-6
|
5-1
|
W1
|
|
10.
|
Montana State Billings
|
1-16
|
.059
|
3-24
|
.111
|
3-10
|
0-11
|
0-3
|
L9
|
|
This Week's GNAC Schedule
|
|
Thursday, November 16:
at Western Washington 3, Northwest Nazarene 1
Western Oregon 3, at Montana State Billings 0
at Alaska Anchorage 3, Alaska Fairbanks 1
Central Washington 3, at Simon Fraser 0
at Seattle Pacific 3, Saint Martin's 1
Saturday, November 18:
Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific, 1 pm
Saint Martin's at Montana State Billings, 1 pm
Northwest Nazarene at Simon Fraser, 5 pm
Central Washington at Western Washington, 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)
|
L
|
3-2
|
25-16,24-26,21-25,25-22,13-15
|
|
10/12
|
Saint Martin's (GNAC)
|
L
|
3-2
|
25-22,25-23,22-25,18-25,10-15
|
|
10/14
|
Western Oregon (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-1
|
25-22,12-25,25-17,25-20
|
|
10/19
|
@Alaska Fairbanks (GNAC)
|
L
|
3-0
|
13-25,20-25,15-25
|
|
10/21
|
@Alaska Anchorage (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-0
|
26-24,25-23,25-16
|
|
10/28
|
Simon Fraser (GNAC)
|
L
|
3-2
|
25-22,18-25,25-16,18-25,6-15
|
|
11/2
|
MSU Billings (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-15,25-15,25-16
|
|
11/4
|
Seattle Pacific (#18) (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-1
|
21-25,25-19,25-23,25-19
|
|
11/9
|
@Western Oregon (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-21,25-22,25-18
|
|
11/11
|
@Saint Martin's (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-2
|
20-25,25-22,25-23,23-25,15-12
|
|
11/16
|
Northwest Nazarene (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-1
|
25-17,25-20,22-25,25-17
|
|
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 1,024 all-time wins (1024-591-7). The winner of 11 Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the Vikings have four of the last six 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 (518-136) the Vikings have posted a 269-66 record over the last 12 seasons and played in the NCAA II West Region championship match five out of the last seven seasons, 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).
