SEATTLE, Wash. – Led by four players with double-digit kills, the Western Washington University volleyball team defeated Seattle Pacific University 3-2 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play Saturday afternoon inside Brougham Pavilion.

The back-and-forth match went 23-25, 25-17, 25-18, 20-25, 15-7 in favor of the Vikings to secure a fourth consecutive victory. WWU improved to 10-4 in conference play moving up one spot into third place in the standings and stand at 11-9 overall. WWU snapped SPU's five-match home winning streak, including a 3-0 victory Thursday over first-place Simon Fraser.

"We will always believe that we are not starts, but a galaxy, and that showed today with a great team victory," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "Having our pins – Devyn and Delaney – both earn double-doubles is a great accomplishment by them. We had some lulls but did a great job to grit through those moments and stay together as a team."

Junior outside hitter Devyn Oestreich (15 kills, 19 digs) and sophomore outside hitter Delaney Speer (14 kills, 13 digs) both recorded double-doubles to lead a quartet of Vikings to finish with double-digit kills. Redshirt freshman middle Dani Johnson (12 kills) and junior opposite Abby May (11) both matched career highs in kills in a match.

Johnson also put up five blocks and sophomore Emily Vossenkuhl totaled six blocks to lead the Viking defense who recorded their second straight game with 11 total team blocks and held the Falcons to a .188 hit percentage. 

Junior Adele Holland (29 assists) and sophomore Caroline Hansen (23 assists) continued their strong seasons of leading a balanced Viking attack. Sophomore libero Finnley Claeys added three service and 19 digs.

Hannah Hair had a 10-kill, 14-block performance to lead Seattle Pacific (7-8, 7-16). Allison Wilks (14 kills, 7 digs, 6 blocks) and Eva LaRochelle (11kills, 13 digs, 5 blocks) also had strong games for the Falcons

The Vikings (11-9, 10-4 GNAC) returns to Bellingham for the final two home matches of the season next week hosting Central Washington on Thursday and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, with both featuring a 7 pm first serve on WECU Court in Carver Gym . Live coverage links to watch and follow the Vikings on the road are available at wwuvikings.com/Live.

Kills – Oestreich (15), Speer (14), Johnson (12), May (11)

Aces – Claeys (3), Oestreich (2), Speer (2)

Blocks – Vossenkuhl (6), Johnson (5), Grant (4)

Assists – Holland (29), Hansen (23), Speer (2)

Digs – Oestreich (19), Claeys (19), Speer (13)

Points – Oestreich (17.5), Speer (17.5), Johnson (14.5), May (11.5)

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

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 wrap up the eighth week of the conference slate. Updated conference standings, results, schedule and statistics can be found online at GNACSports.com.

WWU split the season series with each team recording a 5-set victory on the road. SPU defeated WWU in five sets (25-19,25-20,23-25,21-25,12-15) on October 10 in Carver Gym. WWU leads the all-time series 63-29 with a 27-4 record in the last 31 meetings.

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 1,035 all-time wins (1035-601-7). 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 (528-146) the Vikings have posted a 280-76 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).