BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University volleyball team hosted a Friday night welcome pack party for students to open the fall quarter rewarded the nearly 900 fans in attendance with a 3-0 sweep over Simon Fraser on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

WWU improved to 2-1 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play (3-6 overall) with its second consecutive home victory. The Vikings efficient hitting night snapped SFU's three-match winning streak and perfect 2-0 start in conference play. The Red Leafs are now 6-4 overall and tied in the standings with Western at 2-1 in GNAC play.

The Vikings hit a season-high .282 on 42 kills against only 13 errors on 103 total attacks in the 25-19, 25-21, 25-21 victory. WWU also had another great night on the service line with eight aces, after recording nine in each of the last two matches vs. the Alaska schools. Through three conference matches the Vikings are 2nd in the GNAC with 26 aces.

Junior outside hitter Devyn Oestreich led the Vikings with 12.0 points on eight kills (.208) and three service aces. Sophomore middle Emily Vossenkuhl earned the WECU Player of the Match totaling seven kills on a .429 hitting percentage and led all players with six blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Delaney Speer and redshirt freshman middle Hayli Tri each had eight kills. Sophomore libero Finnley Claeys notched 10 digs and junior setter Adele Holland led Western with 20 assists and seven digs.

"I thought the team wad dialed in tonight on what we wanted to execute on our end," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "Adele (Holland) and Caroline (Hansen) did a great job distributing the ball to all our hitters to create a balanced offense. And I thought our defense was the scrappiest it has been all season, which we had to do against a feisty Simon Fraser team."

SFU was led by 11 kills from senior outside hitter Brooke Dexter, 20 assists by Eva Person and 13 digs by Macyn Unger. The Red Leafs opened GNAC play last week with a pair of 3-0 victories over Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks.

The Vikings (3-6, 2-1 GNAC) return to the road next week for their first conference matches away from Carver Gym traveling to play at Saint Martin's on Thursday (7 pm) and Western Oregon on Saturday (1 pm) . 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 (8), Speer (8), Tri (8)

Aces – Oestreich (3), VanderYacht (2), Speer (1)

Blocks – Vossenkuhl (6), Grant (4), Oestreich (2)

Assists – Holland (20), Hansen (11), Tri (3)

Digs – Claeys (10), Oestreich (8), Holland (7)

Points – Oestreich (12.0), Vossenkuhl (11.0), Speer (9.0), Tri (8.0), Grant (7.0)

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Simon Fraser:

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

WWU improved to 75-35 all-time vs. SFU and 25-2 in GNAC contests since 2010…Vikings have won 14 of the last 15 in the series and are 33-7 all-time vs. the Red Leafs in home matches.

Here is a look at the updated GNAC Volleyball standings and weekly schedule through the second week of the conference slate. Updated conference standings, results, schedule and statistics can be found online at GNACSports.com.

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 1,027 all-time wins (1027-598-7). 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 (521-143) the Vikings have posted a 272-73 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).