BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University volleyball team opened Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a back-and-forth five-set loss to Alaska Fairbanks Thursday evening on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

 

The Vikings put together one of their best performances of the young season with five players recording double-digits in kills, but dropped the 25-18, 15-25, 21-25, 25-22, 13-15 marathon to fall to 1-6 on the season and 0-1 in conference play. UAF improved to 9-2 overall and got off to a 1-0 start in GNAC play.

 

WWU got off to a quick start with a 25-18 first-set victory, but UAF answered taking the second (25-18) and third (25-21) sets to go up 2-1 in the match. The Vikings forced the deciding fifth set by winning 25-22 in the fourth stanza.

 

The Nanooks gained early control in the fifth set leading 9-4, but the Vikings stormed back going on a 9-4 run to pull even at 13-13. The comeback included a 6-1 spurt and four consecutive points. A service error by the Vikings and one of the Nanooks 17 block assists ended the match with UAF prevailing 15-13 in the final set.

 

The victory marked the first win in the series of the history by UAF in Bellingham, a span of 28 matches. 

 

Junior outside hitter Devyn Oestreich led the Vikings with 19.5 points coming on 14 kills, five aces and one block assist. Oestreich added 14 digs for her first double-double of the season. Sophomore outside hitter Delaney Speer also had a double-double with 10 kills and 16 digs, and Abby May (11 kills), Hayli Tri (10 kills) and Janelle Grant (10 kills) also reached double figures in kills. 

 

Sophomore libero Finnley Claeys led Western with 17 digs and junior setter Adele Holland had a double-double with 30 assists and 14 digs. Redshirt freshman setter Ayla Grant also had 22 assists and a pair of service aces. Tri reached double-digit kills for the first time in her collegiate career while hitting .533.

 

The Nanooks were led by 18 kills from Rachel Pierce and a 17-kill, 20-dig double-double by Karli Nielson. UAF recorded a team hitting percentage of .262 and held a 9.6-6.0 advantage in blocks.

VB🏐| With a 14-kill, 14-dig, double-double in addition to 5 aces, Devyn Oestreich finishes with 19.5 points and is the WECU Player of the Game! pic.twitter.com/C4t3eehawB

— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) September 20, 2024

The Vikings (1-6, 0-1 GNAC) remain at home for the next two matches beginning with Saturday's contest hosting Alaska Anchorage (6-5, 0-1 GNAC) at 7 pm on WECU Court in Carver Gym. 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 (14), May (11), J. Grant (10), Speer (10), Tri (10)

Aces – Oestreich (5), Claeys (2), A. Grant (2)

Blocks – Vossenkuhl (4), Tri (2), Oestreich (1)

Assists – Holland (30), A. Grant (22), Vossenkuhl (2)

Digs – Claeys (17), Speer (16), Holland (14), Oestreich (14)

Points – Oestreich (19.5), May (11.5), Tri (11.0), Speer (10.5), Grant (10.0)

 

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Alaska Fairbanks:

 

 

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

 

 

The Vikings were defeated by the Nanook in a home match for the first time in series history, with WWU winning the previous 27 matches vs. UAF in Bellingham. UAF has won the last two matches to mark the first time with consecutive wins over WWU since 1998 and 2000. Western continues to lead the all-time series 52-9 with a 42-5 mark in GNAC matches.
 

 

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

 

 

Saturday's match vs. Alaska Anchorage will be Mental Health Awareness Night in Carver Gym. Green wristbands with the phrase "Human First, Athlete Second" will be handed out at the door to fans. The volleyball program chose the phrase "Human First, Athlete Second," as a way to bring attention to the stigma that exists around mental health and athletes. Remembering to acknowledge who they are outside of sport and taking care of their physical and mental health both on and off the court. A two-minute video featuring WWU student-athletes will be played prior to first serve and the Vikings will have a special guest coach from the WWU Counseling and Wellness Center, Shihan Xu. 

 

Saturday will be the first of four WWU Volleyball Kids Clinics with all interested players 8th-grade or younger invited to attend the free clinic in Carver Gym. Prior to every Saturday home match during the 2024 season, the WWU Volleyball program will host the clinic from 11 am – 12 pm. Clinic attendees will receive a free ticket for the match that evening. No advance registration needed…just come to campus, park in the C lots and learn from great student-athletes and coaches.

 

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 (1025-598-7). 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 (519-143) the Vikings have posted a 270-73 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).