BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Led by double-doubles from outside hitters Delaney Speer and Devyn Oestreich the Western Washington University volleyball team prevailed in a five-set thriller over Northwest Nazarene University Saturday on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

 

The Vikings and Nighthawks battled throughout the marathon match with 33 ties scores and 15 lead changes. Set scores were 25-12, 16-25, 25-23, 22-25, 21-19 in favor of the Vikings to improve to 12-10 on the season and remain in a tie for third place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings at 11-5.

 

"What a match to close out the home schedule. It featured just about everything and in the end I am proud of how we persevered and were resilient in the big moments," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "It's always a fun night to bring alumni back to Carver Gym and celebrate our volleyball family."

 

WWU's final home match is normally Senior Night, but the 2024 roster does not have any senior players. So the night celebrated the alumni who shared video messages with the team on what it means to wear a Viking jersey.

 

WWU trailed NNU 12-9 in the deciding fifth set before going on a 4-0 run to take a 13-12 lead. The Vikings staved off four match point opportunities by the Nighthawks ending the match 21-19 on a block by Dani Johnson and Speer. 

 

Speer led the Vikings with a career-high 18 kills and added 22 digs and five block assists for a team-high 22.5 points. Oestreich concluded another solid week on the court with 17 kills, 23 digs, three blocks and one service ace for 19.5 points.

 

"The D's were at it again – Delaney and Devyn were all over the place and coming up with big plays at key moments in the match," added Flick-Williams. "I thought our blocking came through when we needed it to and it was a good way to end the back-and-forth match with the block by Delaney and Dani (Johnson)."

 

The Vikings held a 14-6 advantage in blocks with sophomore middle Emily Vossenkuhl leading the way with eight blocks. Sophomore libero Finnley Claeys added 15 digs. The setter duo of Adele Holland (31 assists) and Caroline Hansen (30 assists) ran an efficient offense with a .228 team hitting percentage.

 

Northwest Nazarene (7-17, 4-12 GNAC) was led by a match-high 23 kills from Abby Black and 18 kills by Maren Machado. Kayci Spray led the Nighthawks with 22 digs.

 

The Vikings (12-10, 11-5 GNAC) wrap up the regular season next week making the annual trip to Alaska to face Alaska Anchorage on Thursday at 11 am AKT/12 pm PT and Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday with first serve scheduled for 2 pm AKT/3 pm PT. Live coverage links to watch and follow the Vikings on the road are available at wwuvikings.com/Live.

 

Kills – Speer (18), Oestreich (17), Grant (10)

Aces – Holland (2), Speer (2), Oestreich (1)

Blocks – Vossenkuhl (8), Johnson (6), Speer (5)

Assists – Holland (31), Hansen (30)

Digs – Oestreich (23), Speer (22), Claeys (15)

Points – Speer (22.5), Oestreich (19.5), Vossenkuhl (15.0), Grant (12.0)

 

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

 

 

Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2024 season:

 

 

Here is a look at the updated GNAC Volleyball standings and weekly following play on Saturday to conclude the penultimate week of the conference slate. Updated conference standings, results, schedule and statistics can be found online at GNACSports.com.

 

 

WWU swept the season series vs. NNU after defeating the Nighthawks in five sets Saturday and 3-0 in Nampa (25-18, 25-20, 25-20). The Vikings extended their winning streak over NNU to 14 consecutive matches and lead the all-time series 49-9. Western improved to 21-4 all-time vs. NNU in home matches and has a 12-match winning streak over the Nighthawks in Carver Gym.

 

Here is a match-by-match look at the 2024 season with current results and the schedule:

 

 

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 1,036 all-time wins (1036-602-7). 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 (529-147) the Vikings have posted a 281-77 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).