BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 20 nationally ranked Western Washington University volleyball team returned to Carver Gym and delivered a 3-1 victory over Alaska Anchorage Thursday evening on Pride Night.
WWU improved to 12-2 overall and 6-1 in GNAC play defeating UAA 27-25, 21-25, 25-13, 28-26 in a match that featured 29 tie scores and 13 lead changes. The Vikings are 5-1 on WECU Court in Carver Gym this season.
Senior outside hitter Devyn Oestreich led the Vikings high-powered offensive attack with a 21-kill, 22-dig double-double on a .462 hitting percentage. Junior outside hitter Delaney Speer added a 16-kill, 12-dig double-double, junior middle Emily Vossenkuhl contributed 12 kills (.440) and three blocks and senior opposite Abby May tallied 11 kills on a .406 hitting percentage.
"What a gritty match against and very good Anchorage team," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "I'm so proud of our team the how they responded this week in practice and its application in the match. Having four player in double-digit kills was really exciting to see and the setters did an awesome job with decision making."
The setter duo of senior Adele Holland (30 assists) and junior Caroline Hansen (29 kills) evenly distributed the ball to set up the four players with double digits in kills, while leading the team to a .297 hitting percentage. Junior libero Finnley Claeys served up a career-high five aces and recorded 16 digs.
Alaska Anchorage (13-3, 4-2 GNAC) was led by 19 kills from Lee Ivakina (.300, 9 digs) and 10 kills and seven blocks by Martina Riba. Setter Johana Malikova led all players with 50 assists and recorded a double-double with 17 digs.
NCAA Volleyball
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
Final
|
Alaska Anchorage (13-3, 4-2)
|
25
|
25
|
13
|
26
|
1
|
Western Washington (12-2, 6-1)
|
27
|
21
|
25
|
28
|
3
|
The Vikings (12-2, 6-1 GNAC) remain at home hosting No. 18 Alaska Fairbanks (14-2, 5-1 GNAC) Saturday with first serve at 7 pm on WECU Court. The Carver Gym Box Office opens one hour prior to first serve and all current WWU students receive free admission to all home matches. All conference matches will stream live on the GNAC Network. The complete 2025 season schedule can be viewed at WWUVikings.com/25_VB.
Kills – Oestreich (21), Speer (16), Vossenkuhl (12)
Aces – Claeys (5), Holland (1), Speer (1)
Blocks – Vossenkuhl (3), Zaddack (3), May (2)
Assists – Holland (30), Hansen (29), Vossenkuhl (2)
Digs – Oestreich (22), Claeys (16), Speer (12)
Points – Oestreich (21.5), Speer (18.0), Vossenkuhl (14.0), May (12.0)
Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Alaska Anchorage:
COMPARISON
|
WWU
|
UAA
|
Attack Pct.
|
.297 (66-17-165)
|
.238 (57-18-164)
|
Kills
|
66
|
57
|
Assists
|
65
|
55
|
Service Aces
|
9
|
6
|
Solo Blocks
|
1
|
2
|
Block Assists
|
10
|
16
|
Total Blocks
|
6.0
|
10.0
|
Tie Scores: 29 Lead Changes: 13
|
Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2025 season:
2025 RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
Overall Record
|
12-2
|
Streak
|
W1
|
Home
|
5-1
|
Away
|
5-1
|
Neutral
|
2-0
|
GNAC Record
|
6-1
|
Non-Conference
|
6-1
|
3-Set Matches
|
4-1
|
4-Set Matches
|
7-1
|
5-Set Matches
|
1-0
|
Ranked Opponents
|
3-1
|
Winning First Set
|
10-0
|
Dropping First Set
|
2-2
|
Record by Jersey
|
White
|
1-0
|
Light Blue
|
5-0
|
Dark Gray
|
0-0
|
Navy Blue
|
2-0
|
Light Gray
|
4-2
|
GNAC STANDINGS & WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Here is a look at the updated GNAC Volleyball standings and results following Thursday's action to open the fourth week of the conference slate. Updated conference standings, results, schedule and statistics can be found online at GNACSports.com.
|
School
|
GNAC
|
Pct.
|
Overall
|
Pct.
|
Home
|
Away
|
Neutral
|
Streak
|
L10
|
1.
|
Western Washington
|
6-1
|
.857
|
12-2
|
.857
|
5-1
|
5-1
|
2-0
|
W1
|
9-1
|
|
Simon Fraser
|
6-1
|
.857
|
12-1
|
.923
|
4-0
|
4-1
|
4-0
|
W6
|
9-1
|
3.
|
Alaska Fairbanks
|
5-1
|
.833
|
14-2
|
.875
|
6-0
|
2-1
|
6-1
|
L1
|
9-1
|
|
Central Washington
|
5-1
|
.833
|
9-4
|
.692
|
3-1
|
3-1
|
3-2
|
W4
|
7-3
|
5.
|
Alaska Anchorage
|
4-2
|
.667
|
13-3
|
.812
|
9-0
|
2-2
|
2-1
|
L2
|
7-3
|
6.
|
Saint Martin's
|
2-4
|
.333
|
9-5
|
.643
|
1-1
|
2-3
|
6-1
|
L1
|
6-4
|
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
2-4
|
.333
|
3-10
|
.231
|
2-5
|
1-3
|
0-2
|
W2
|
3-7
|
8.
|
Seattle Pacific
|
1-5
|
.167
|
6-8
|
.429
|
1-3
|
0-2
|
5-3
|
L1
|
2-8
|
9.
|
Montana State Billings
|
0-6
|
.000
|
1-10
|
.091
|
0-5
|
0-3
|
1-2
|
L9
|
1-9
|
|
Western Oregon
|
0-6
|
.000
|
1-13
|
.071
|
0-3
|
0-6
|
1-4
|
L7
|
1-9
|
This Week's GNAC Schedule & Results
|
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:
Western Oregon at Northwest Nazarene, 1:00 pm MT
Seattle Pacific at Montana State Billings, 1:00 pm MT
Saint Martin's at Central Washington, 1:00 pm
Alaska Anchorage at Simon Fraser, 5:00 pm
Alaska Fairbanks at Western Washington, 7:00 pm
|
Here is a match-by-match look at the 2025 season with current results and the schedule:
Date
|
Opponent
|
|
Score
|
Score-by-set
|
WWU Invitational (Bellingham, WA)
|
9/4
|
Cal Poly Pomona (#7)
|
L
|
1-3
|
25-27,16-25,25-21,12-25
|
9/5
|
St. Cloud State (#3)
|
W
|
3-1
|
21-25,25-23,26-24,25-16
|
9/6
|
San Francisco State (#4)
|
W
|
3-1
|
25-17,16-25,25-23,25-16
|
Aloha State Showdown (Honolulu, HI)
|
9/11
|
UC Merced
|
W
|
3-1
|
25-14,25-18,18-25,25-14
|
9/11
|
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
|
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)
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
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
|