SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Making its season debut with a youthful roster, the No. 15 nationally-ranked Western Washington University volleyball team lost in four sets to No. 18 Regis University Thursday to open the Yotes Classic Showcase.

WWU featured nine of 10 players that saw action with freshman or sophomore eligibility, and had five players make their collegiate debut in the 22-25, 25-20, 15-25, 20-25 defeat inside The Den on the Cal State San Bernardino campus.

The tightly-contested match vs. the Rangers featured 24 tie scores and 13 lead changes, with the Vikings falling just short of the season-opening victory.

"I am pleased with the start of the team today. We have a lot to learn but we also have a lot we can build on," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "The goal is to get better with each match, so we will aim to get better tonight against our next opponent."

Redshirt freshman Delaney Speer paced the offense nearing a double-double while making her WWU debut, registering 10 kills, nine digs and four blocks for 13.5 total points. Sophomore outside hitter Devyn Oestreich (16 digs, 3 aces, 5 kills) and sophomore middle Asia Stewart (6 kills, 4 blocks) each totaled 8.5 points. 

Sophomore setter Adele Holland tallied 24 assists while also contributing six digs and a pair of blocks. Junior Gabby Kepley, the lone upperclassman to see action for the Vikings, had a solid all-around match with four kills, five digs, four blocks and a pair of service aces.

The back-and-forth match had the Vikings take an early lead in the first set, before the Rangers rallied going on a late 8-2 run to win 25-22. WWU was down 16-10 in the second stanza, but bounced back going on a 15-4 run to take the set 25-20. After Regis controlled the third set, Western looked to push the match into a deciding fifth set by leveling the fourth set 17-17. Regis used a 5-2 run to gain momentum to win the fourth set and match 25-20.

Regis (1-0) was led by a match-high 12 kills on a .375 hitting percentage by Hannah Kepler and 10 kills by Nadine Burbrink.

WWU returns to action later Thursday evening with a match against tournament host and No. 19 nationally-ranked Cal State San Bernardino at 7:30 pm.

The Vikings (0-1, 0-0 GNAC) conclude a busy first day of the 2023 season returning to action later Thursday evening taking on No. 19 nationally-ranked and tournament host Cal State San Bernardino with first serve scheduled for 7:30 pm. The complete 2023 WWU Volleyball schedule, with links to statistics, webcasts, live stats and more can be found online at wwuvikings.com/VB.

Kills – Speer (10), Stewart (6), Oestreich (5)

Aces – Oestreich (3), Kepley, Gabby (2), Speer (1)

Blocks – Vossenkuhl (6), Speer (4), Stewart (4)

Assists – Holland (24), Claeys (2)

Digs – Oestreich (16), Speer (9), Holland (6)

Points – Speer (13.5), Stewart (8.5), Oestreich (8.5), Vossenkuhl (8.0), Kepley (7.5)

Marked the third time WWU has faced Regis and the second time in as many seasons. WWU defeated Regis 3-1 last season at the WWU Volleyball Invitational in Bellingham. Regis now leads the all-time series 2-1.

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

After opening the 2023 season with 10 consecutive matches on the road, the Vikings will make its debut on WECU Court in Carver Gym on Thursday, September 21 hosting defending GNAC champion Alaska Anchorage. Season tickets for the Vikings nine home matches are currently on sale and can be purchased by calling the WWU Box Office at (360) 650-6103. Single-game tickets are also available at wwuvikings.com/Tickets. New for the 2023-24 season for all intercollegiate sports will be FREE STUDENT TICKETS at all events! The complete 2022 WWU Volleyball schedule can be viewed online and bookmarked for easy access at wwuvikings.com/23_VB.

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.

The WWU Volleyball program enters 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 1,012 all-time wins (1012-579-7/.635). 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 23rd-year head coach Diane Flick-Williams (506-124/.803) the Vikings have posted a 257-54 record over the last 11 seasons (.826 winning percentage) 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).