MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Washington University volleyball team completed a road trip sweep recording its third consecutive 3-0 victory Saturday in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match-up with Western Oregon University on Saturday.
WWU won its fourth consecutive match overall to improve to 4-1 in GNAC play and 5-6 overall defeating WOU 25-18, 25-22, 25-20 inside the New PE Building.
Two days after defeating Saint Martin's in straight sets, the Vikings trekked further south with the same results defeating the Wolves for the 24th consecutive match.
The Vikings combined for a .270 team hitting percentage – the second-best this season – and had a balanced offensive attack with six players recording at least five kills.
Junior outside hitter Devyn Oestreich led WWU with an 11-kill, 14-did double-double and sophomore outside hitter Delaney Speer tallied 10 kills, eight digs and a pair of aces.
Junior Adele Holland (21 assists) and sophomore Caroline Hansen (15 assists) ran a balanced offense to help keep the Vikings in a second-place tie in the GNAC standings.
Middles Emily Vossenkuhl (7 kills, .462) and Hayli Tri (7 kills, .357) were key contributors, along with juniors Janelle Grant (7 kills, .583) and Abby May (5 kills). Sophomore libero Finnley Claeys helped anchor the defense with 12 digs.
"This as another great team effort. We really did a great job of buckling down when we got to 20 points," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "Janelle (Grant) had a great match and was very good not only at the net, but did the little things as well. Our serve and receive game helped to have our whole offense available."
WOU (9-5, 2-4 GNAC) was led by 11 kills on a .375 hitting percentage from Maela Honma and seven kills by Lauryn Johnson.
The Vikings (5-6, 4-1 GNAC) return home for a pair of GNAC matches on WECU Court in Carver Gym next week, first hosting Seattle Pacific for Pride Night on Thursday and Montana State Billings on Pink Night on Saturday, with both conference matches featuring a 7 pm first serve. Tickets for all home matches can be purchased in advance at wwuvikings.com/Tickets. All current WWU students will again receive free admission for all home regular-season athletic events in 2024-25.
Kills – Oestreich (11), Speer (10), Grant (7)
Aces – Speer (2), Holland (1), Oestreich (1)
Blocks – Tri (4), Vossenkuhl (3), Oestreich (2)
Assists – Holland (21), Hansen (15), Vossenkuhl (4)
Digs – Oestreich (14), Claeys (12), Holland (8)
Points – Oestreich (13.0), Speer (12.5), Tri (9.0), Vossenkuhl (8.5)
Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Western Oregon:
|
COMPARISON
|
WWU
|
WOU
|
|
Attack Pct.
|
.270 (47-17-111)
|
.194 (34-14-103)
|
|
Kills
|
47
|
34
|
|
Assists
|
44
|
33
|
|
Service Aces
|
5
|
3
|
|
Solo Blocks
|
0
|
1
|
|
Block Assists
|
14
|
12
|
|
Total Blocks
|
7.0
|
7.0
|
|
Tie Scores: 23 Lead Changes: 8
|
Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2024 season:
|
2024 RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall Record
|
5-6
|
|
Streak
|
W4
|
|
Home
|
3-3
|
|
Away
|
2-0
|
|
Neutral
|
0-3
|
|
GNAC Record
|
4-1
|
|
Non-Conference
|
1-5
|
|
3-Set Matches
|
4-5
|
|
4-Set Matches
|
0-0
|
|
5-Set Matches
|
1-1
|
|
Ranked Opponents
|
0-4
|
|
Winning First Set
|
4-1
|
|
Dropping First Set
|
1-5
|
|
Record by Jersey
|
|
White
|
2-1
|
|
Light Blue
|
0-3
|
|
Dark Gray
|
0-0
|
|
Navy Blue
|
3-2
|
WWU improved to 52-14 all-time vs. Western Oregon by extending its winning streak to 24 consecutive matches over the Wolves.
2024 GNAC STANDINGS & WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Here is a look at the updated GNAC Volleyball standings and weekly following play on Saturday to conclude the third week of the conference slate. Updated conference standings, results, schedule and statistics can be found online at GNACSports.com.
|
|
School
|
GNAC
|
Pct.
|
Overall
|
Pct.
|
Home
|
Away
|
Neutral
|
Streak
|
L10
|
|
1.
|
Central Washington
|
5-0
|
1.000
|
7-4
|
.636
|
3-2
|
3-0
|
1-2
|
W5
|
7-3
|
|
2.
|
Western Washington
|
4-1
|
.800
|
5-6
|
.455
|
3-3
|
2-0
|
0-3
|
W4
|
4-6
|
|
|
Simon Fraser
|
4-1
|
.800
|
8-4
|
.667
|
2-0
|
3-1
|
3-3
|
W2
|
7-3
|
|
4.
|
Alaska Fairbanks
|
4-2
|
.667
|
12-4
|
.750
|
4-1
|
6-2
|
2-1
|
W2
|
8-2
|
|
5.
|
Alaska Anchorage
|
3-3
|
.500
|
9-7
|
.562
|
1-1
|
4-3
|
4-3
|
W2
|
7-3
|
|
6.
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
2-3
|
.400
|
5-8
|
.385
|
4-3
|
0-4
|
1-1
|
L1
|
4-6
|
|
7.
|
Western Oregon
|
2-4
|
.333
|
9-5
|
.643
|
1-3
|
2-2
|
6-0
|
L2
|
5-5
|
|
|
Saint Martin's
|
2-4
|
.333
|
4-10
|
.286
|
1-3
|
1-1
|
2-6
|
L2
|
3-7
|
|
9.
|
Seattle Pacific
|
1-4
|
.200
|
1-12
|
.077
|
0-2
|
1-3
|
0-7
|
L4
|
1-9
|
|
10.
|
Montana State Billings
|
0-5
|
.000
|
6-8
|
.429
|
4-4
|
1-2
|
1-2
|
L5
|
3-7
|
|
This Week's GNAC Schedule
|
|
Thursday, October 3:
Alaska Anchorage 3, at Montana State Billings 0
Western Washington 3, at Saint Martin's 0
Simon Fraser 3, at Western Oregon 1
Alaska Fairbanks 3, at Seattle Pacific 0
Saturday, October 5:
Alaska Fairbanks 3, at Montana State Billings 0
Central Washington 3, at Northwest Nazarene 0
Simon Fraser 3, at Saint Martin's 0
Western Washington 3, at Western Oregon 0
Alaska Anchorage 3, at Seattle Pacific 1
|
Here is a match-by-match look at the 2024 season with current results and the schedule:
|
Date
|
Opponent
|
|
Score
|
Score-by-set
|
|
WWU Invitational (Bellingham, WA)
|
|
9/5
|
Sonoma State
|
W
|
3-0
|
28-26,25-18,25-22
|
|
9/6
|
MSU Denver (#7)
|
L
|
3-0
|
14-25,22-25,20-25
|
|
9/7
|
San Francisco State
|
L
|
3-0
|
15-25,18-25,21-25
|
|
CWU Invitational (Ellensburg, WA)
|
|
9/12
|
Cal State San Bernardino (#16)
|
L
|
3-0
|
17-25,23-25,18-25
|
|
9/13
|
Cal State LA (#11)
|
L
|
3-0
|
15-25,24-26,15-25
|
|
9/14
|
Cal Poly Pomona (#10)
|
L
|
3-0
|
12-25,12-25,22-25
|
|
Great Northwest Athletic Conference
|
|
9/19
|
Alaska Fairbanks (GNAC)
|
L
|
3-2
|
25-18,15-25,21-25,25-22,13-15
|
|
9/21
|
Alaska Anchorage (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-2
|
22-25,22-25,25-20,25-20,15-9
|
|
9/27
|
Simon Fraser (GNAC) (RV)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-19,25-21,25-21
|
|
10/3
|
@Saint Martin's (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-17,29-27,25-23
|
|
10/5
|
@Western Oregon (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-18,25-22,25-20
|
|
10/10
|
Seattle Pacific (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
10/12
|
Montana State Billings (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
10/17
|
@Northwest Nazarene (GNAC)
|
|
|
3:30 pm MT
|
|
10/19
|
@Central Washington (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
10/26
|
@Simon Fraser (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
10/31
|
Western Oregon (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
11/2
|
Saint Martin's (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
11/7
|
@Montana State Billings (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm MT
|
|
11/9
|
@Seattle Pacific (GNAC)
|
|
|
1:00 pm
|
|
11/14
|
Central Washington (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
11/16
|
Northwest Nazarene (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
11/21
|
@Alaska Anchorage (GNAC)
|
|
|
11:00 am AKT
|
|
11/23
|
@Alaska Fairbanks (GNAC)
|
|
|
2:00 pm AKT
|
Fans can follow WWU Volleyball online at WWUVikings.com/VB, and via social media on 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 54th season as a varsity intercollegiate sport in 2024, rising to an elite level by advancing to the NCAA Division II Championships in 10 of the last 11 seasons and 16 of the last 22 dating back to the 2001 season. The program has recorded 1,029 all-time wins (1029-598-7). The winner of 11 Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the Vikings have four of the last seven GNAC titles with a 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 25th-year head coach Diane Flick-Williams (523-143) the Vikings have posted a 274-73 record over the last 13 seasons and played in the NCAA II West Region championship match five out of the last eight 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 eight seasons (2015, 2018, 2021).
