BELLINGHAM, Wash. – In a battle of top 20 nationally ranked teams, the No. 20 Western Washington Vikings earned a 3-0 sweep over No. 18 Alaska Fairbanks Saturday evening in GNAC volleyball action on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
With the Viking Band and cheer squad energizing a crowd of 854 fans, the Vikings completed a 2-0 week against the Alaska schools to move to 7-1 in GNAC play to gain sole possession of first place in the conference standings. WWU improved to 13-2 overall with its 13th win in the last 14 matches and moved to 6-1 in Carver Gym. Western is also 11-0 when winning the first set this season and 4-1 against nationally-ranked opponents. Set scores were 25-23, 25-21, 25-15 in favor of the Vikings.
"This was a tough weekend against two good teams … so coming out with two victories is great," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "I was really pleased with our serving game, especially Finnley (Claeys) and Devyn (Oestreich). We applied some good pressure from the service line. Maren (Stuber) and Teya (Zaddack) really came up clutch tonight and elevated their play. This was another galaxy win and I'm super proud of them."
Junior outside hitter Delaney Speer led the team with 11 kills and senior outside hitter Devyn Oestreich recorded seven kills, 11 digs, four service aces and a pair of blocks for 12.5 points. Freshman Maren Stuber was a spark for the Vikings with six kills on a .462 hitting percentage and added four block assists.
Junior libero Finnley Claeys tied for the team lead with 11 digs and served up four aces. In two matches against the Alaska schools Claeys recorded nine aces. Redshirt freshman middle Teya Zaddack tallied five kills on a .714 hitting percentage (3 blocks) and junior middle Emily Vossenkuhl contributed a team-high five blocks.
Junior Caroline Hansen (15 assists) and senior Adele Holland (14 assists) distributed the ball with the Vikings recording a .226 team hitting percentage.
The Vikings 11 service aces matched a season high.
Alaska Fairbanks (14-3, 5-2) was led by a 15-kill, 14-dig double-double by Mikala Henderson and six kills and four blocks by Elena Guc.
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NCAA Volleyball
|
1
|
2
|
3
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Final
|
|
Alaska Fairbanks (14-3, 5-2)
|
23
|
21
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15
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0
|
|
Western Washington (13-2, 7-1)
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25
|
25
|
25
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3
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The Vikings (13-2, 7-1 GNAC) are back in action week with one GNAC match, closing out the first half of the GNAC schedule against nationally ranked Simon Fraser (12-2, 6-2 GNAC) on Friday on Burnaby Mountain inside West Gym. The cross-border rivalry features a 7 pm first serve with live coverage on the GNAC Network. The complete 2025 season schedule can be viewed at WWUVikings.com/25_VB.
Kills – Speer (11), Oestreich (7), Stuber (6)
Aces – Oestreich (4), Claeys (4), Holland (1)
Blocks – Vossenkuhl (5), Stuber (4), Zaddack (3)
Assists – Hansen (15), Holland (14), Oestreich (3)
Digs – Oestreich (11), Claeys (11), Speer (7)
Points – Speer (13.0), Oestreich (12.5), Stuber (8.0), Vossenkuhl (6.5), Zaddack (6.5)
Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Alaska Fairbanks:
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COMPARISON
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WWU
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UAF
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|
Attack Pct.
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.226 (37-11-115)
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.142 (39-23-113)
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Kills
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37
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39
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Assists
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35
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38
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Service Aces
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11
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2
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Solo Blocks
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1
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0
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Block Assists
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16
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10
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|
Total Blocks
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9.0
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5.0
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Tie Scores: 19 Lead Changes: 5
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Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2025 season:
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2025 RECORD BREAKDOWN
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Overall Record
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13-2
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Streak
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W2
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Home
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6-1
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Away
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5-1
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Neutral
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2-0
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GNAC Record
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7-1
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Non-Conference
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6-1
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3-Set Matches
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5-1
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4-Set Matches
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7-1
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5-Set Matches
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1-0
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Ranked Opponents
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4-1
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Winning First Set
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11-0
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Dropping First Set
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2-2
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Record by Jersey
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White
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1-0
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Light Blue
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6-0
|
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Dark Gray
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0-0
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Navy Blue
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2-0
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Light Gray
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4-2
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GNAC STANDINGS & WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Here is a look at the updated GNAC Volleyball standings and results following Saturday's action to close out the fourth week of the conference slate. Updated conference standings, results, schedule and statistics can be found online at GNACSports.com.
|
|
School
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GNAC
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Pct.
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Overall
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Pct.
|
Home
|
Away
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Neutral
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Streak
|
L10
|
|
1.
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Western Washington
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7-1
|
.875
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13-2
|
.867
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6-1
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5-1
|
2-0
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W2
|
9-1
|
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2.
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Central Washington
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6-1
|
.857
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10-4
|
.714
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4-1
|
3-1
|
3-2
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W5
|
8-2
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|
3.
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Simon Fraser
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6-2
|
.750
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12-2
|
.857
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4-1
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4-1
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4-0
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L1
|
8-2
|
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4.
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Alaska Fairbanks
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5-2
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.714
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14-3
|
.824
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6-0
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2-2
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6-1
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L2
|
8-2
|
|
|
Alaska Anchorage
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5-2
|
.714
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14-3
|
.824
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9-0
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3-2
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2-1
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W1
|
7-3
|
|
6.
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Northwest Nazarene
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3-4
|
.429
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4-10
|
.286
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3-5
|
1-3
|
0-2
|
W3
|
3-7
|
|
7.
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Saint Martin's
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2-5
|
.286
|
9-6
|
.600
|
1-1
|
2-4
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6-1
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L2
|
5-5
|
|
|
Seattle Pacific
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2-5
|
.286
|
7-8
|
.467
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1-3
|
1-2
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5-3
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W1
|
3-7
|
|
9.
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Montana State Billings
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0-7
|
.000
|
1-11
|
.083
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0-6
|
0-3
|
1-2
|
L10
|
0-10
|
|
|
Western Oregon
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0-7
|
.000
|
1-14
|
.067
|
0-3
|
0-7
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1-4
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L8
|
1-9
|
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This Week's GNAC Schedule & Results
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|
Thursday, October 9:
at Northwest Nazarene 3, Saint Martin's 2
at Simon Fraser 3, Alaska Fairbanks 1
at Central Washington 3, Western Oregon 1
at Western Washington 3, Alaska Anchorage 1
Saturday, October 11:
at Northwest Nazarene 3, Western Oregon 0
Seattle Pacific 3, at Montana State Billings 1
at Central Washington 3, Saint Martin's 1
Alaska Anchorage 3, at Simon Fraser 2
at Western Washington 3, Alaska Fairbanks 0
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Here is a match-by-match look at the 2025 season with current results and the schedule:
|
Date
|
Opponent
|
|
Score
|
Score-by-set
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|
WWU Invitational (Bellingham, WA)
|
|
9/4
|
Cal Poly Pomona (#7)
|
L
|
1-3
|
25-27,16-25,25-21,12-25
|
|
9/5
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St. Cloud State (#3)
|
W
|
3-1
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21-25,25-23,26-24,25-16
|
|
9/6
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San Francisco State (#4)
|
W
|
3-1
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25-17,16-25,25-23,25-16
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|
Aloha State Showdown (Honolulu, HI)
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|
9/11
|
UC Merced
|
W
|
3-1
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25-14,25-18,18-25,25-14
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|
9/11
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Chaminade (#24)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-19,25-19,25-22
|
|
9/12
|
Hawai'i Hilo
|
W
|
3-1
|
25-16,15-25,25-21,27-25
|
|
9/13
|
Hawai'i Pacific
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-14,25-19,25-22
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|
Great Northwest Athletic Conference
|
|
9/18
|
@Northwest Nazarene (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-1
|
25-15,25-14,21-25,25-16
|
|
9/20
|
@Central Washington (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-2
|
23-25,25-23,25-20,21-25,15-11
|
|
9/25
|
Montana State Billings (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-7,34-32,25-12
|
|
9/27
|
Seattle Pacific (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-1
|
26-24,25-15,22-25,25-18
|
|
10/2
|
@Western Oregon (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-0
|
27-25,25-20,25-21
|
|
10/4
|
@Saint Martin's (GNAC)
|
L
|
0-3
|
15-25,14-25,17-25
|
|
10/9
|
Alaska Anchorage (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-1
|
27-25,21-25,25-13,28-26
|
|
10/11
|
Alaska Fairbanks (GNAC)(#18)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-23,25-21,25-15
|
|
10/17
|
@Simon Fraser (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
10/23
|
@Seattle Pacific (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
10/25
|
@Montana St. Billings (GNAC)
|
|
|
3:00 pm MT
|
|
10/30
|
Saint Martin's (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
11/1
|
Western Oregon (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
11/6
|
@Alaska Fairbanks (GNAC)
|
|
|
11:00 am AKT
|
|
11/8
|
@Alaska Anchorage (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm AKT
|
|
11/15
|
Simon Fraser (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
11/20
|
Central Washington (GNAC)
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
11/22
|
Northwest Nazarene (GNAC)
|
|
|
5:00 pm
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