ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Western Washington University volleyball team continued its tough early-season schedule facing defending national champion and No. 11 nationally-ranked Cal State LA Friday afternoon during the second day of the CWU Invitational.

WWU dropped its fourth consecutive match in the 3-0 loss to the Golden Eagles by set scores of 25-15, 26-24, 25-15 inside Nicholson Pavilion.

The Vikings battled CSLA during a back-and-forth second set using a 5-0 run to pull even at 22-22. Western had set point leading 24-23, but the Golden Eagles rattled off three consecutive points to take the set 26-24 to go up 2-0.

WWU was led by seven kills from sophomore outside hitter Delaney Speer, six kills each from juniors Devyn Oestreich and Janelle Grant, and five kills by redshirt freshman middle Hayli Tri. Sophomore libero Finnley Claeys recorded a pair of service aces and led the Vikings with seven digs.

Cal State LA (4-2) held a 9-4 advantage in total blocks and was led by 17 kills and four aces by All-American outside hitter Emily Elliott. 

The Vikings (1-4) close out the non-conference portion of the schedule Saturday facing No. 10 Cal Poly Pomona at 11 am.  Fans can follow all the road matches with direct links online at wwuvikings.com/Live.

Kills – Speer (7), Oestreich (6), Grant (6)

Aces – Claeys (2)

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

Assists – Hansen (12), Grant (8), Tri (3)

Digs – Claeys (7), Speer (6), Oestreich (5)

Points – Speer (7.0), Oestreich (6.5), Grant (6.5), Tri (6.0)

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Cal State LA:

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

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 1,025 all-time wins (1025-596-7). The winner of 11 Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the Vikings have four of the last seven 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 25th-year head coach Diane Flick-Williams (519-141) the Vikings have posted a 270-71 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).