BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Sophomore middle Karli Tri had a match-high 11 kills and redshirt freshman outside hitter Delaney Speer added eight kills and a match-best 16 digs as Western Washington University swept Montana State University-Billings, 25-15, 25-15, 25-16, in the annual Unity Match and a Great Northwest Athletic Conference counter Thursday on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

 

The Vikings' victory avenged an earlier five-set road loss to the last-place Yellowjackets on October 7. That setback was just the second for Western in 35 series meetings between the two schools. 

 

Western, which improved to 8-13 overall and moved into a three-way tie for 3rd place in the GNAC standings at 8-5, also got 12 digs, eight kills and three service aces from sophomore outside hitter Devyn Oestreich.

 

"We have been through a lot this season and tonight was a great sign of who this team is," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "We stuck together and played a solid team game and I am really proud of them for that."

 

The Vikings scored the first eight points of the match, three of them aces, on the serve of Oestreich. They stretched that first set lead to 12, 15-3, and as many as 13 twice, 20-7 and 21-8.

 

In the second set, Western used a 6-1 run to take a nine-point advantage, 20-11 and MSUB never got closer than seven.

 

The third and deciding set was tied at 8-8 before the Vikings broke it open with a 7-2 run. Sophomore outside hitter Abby May, who had 12 digs, closed it out with three consecutive service aces.

 

The Vikings recorded a season-best team hitting percentage of .387, with sophomore Adele Holland (20 assists) and redshirt freshman Caroline Hansen (19 assists) efficiently distributing the ball to five hitters with at least five kills.

 

"Our offense was very balanced, which started with good serve/receive and solid choices by our setters," added Flick-Williams. "Karli (Tri) and Voss (Emily Vossenkuhl) were moving the ball around, Devyn (Oestreich) and Delaney (Speer) were swinging hard from the outside and Anu (Lopez) and Gabby (Kepley) anchored the right side. It was a total team effort."

 

Western, which has gone against the ninth-toughest NCAA Division II schedule in the nation this year, completes a three-match homestand on Saturday (7 p.m.), facing No. 18 nationally-ranked Seattle Pacific University in a GNAC contest. That will be the ninth Top 25 ranked team the Vikings have met this fall.

 

MSUB fell to 3-21 on the season and 1-13 in GNAC play with its sixth consecutive loss. The Yellowjackets, who were held to a 0.68 hitting percentage, got 10 kills from Olivia Schwartz, and Christine Funk and Hailey Carroll each had 14 digs.
 

 

WWU (8-13, 8-5 GNAC) remains at home hosting first-place Seattle Pacific on Saturday with first serve scheduled for 7 pm on WECU Court in Caver 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 – Tri (11), Oestreich (8), Speer (8)

Aces – Oestreich (3), May (3), Holland (1)

Blocks – Tri (3), Lopez (3), Vossenkuhl (2)

Assists – Holland (20), Hansen (16), May (2)

Digs – Speer (16), Oestreich (12), May (12)

Points – Tri (12.5), Oestreich (11.5), Speer (9.0), Kepley (7.5)

 

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and MSUB:

 

 

Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2023 season:

 

 

Here is a look updated records for the 10 GNAC volleyball programs through matches played on Thursday, with the Vikings moving into a three-way tie for 3rd place in the conference standings:

 

 

Here is a match-by-match look at the 2023 season with current results and the schedule:

 

 

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.