ANCHORAGE – The No. 14 nationally ranked Western Washington University volleyball team had its five-match winning streak snapped with a four-set loss at Alaska Anchorage Saturday evening inside the Alaska Airlines Center.
In a match that featured 36 tie scores and 23 lead changes, including 16 ties in the fourth set, the Vikings dropped just its fourth match of the season falling 23-25, 25-23, 18-25, 32-24 to the Seawolves. WWU slipped into second place in the GNAC standings with a 12-3 conference record and is 18-4 overall with two weeks remaining in the regular season. UAA improved to 19-5 overall and 10-4 in GNAC play, going 2-0 against ranked opponents during the week.
The Vikings were led by a 20-kill, 11-dig double-double from junior outside hitter Delaney Speer and the 15th double-double of the season from senior outside hitter Devyn Oestreich recording 10 kills and a match-high 21 digs.
Redshirt freshman opposite Violet Burchak recorded a career-high 12 kills and 13.5 points and junior middle Emily Vossenkuhl led the Vikings with five blocks. Oestreich also had four service aces and junior setter Caroline Hansen tallied 28 assists. Senior setter Adele Holland recorded a double-double with 20 assists and 10 digs. Junior libero Finnley Claeys added 16 digs.
The Seawolves were led by a career-high 25-kill effort from Lee Ivakina and a 15-kill, 18-dig double-double by Tia Allen. UAA held a 12.0-to-5.0 advantage in blocks and recorded a team hitting percentage of .253 compared to the .164 from the Vikings.
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NCAA Volleyball
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1
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2
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3
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4
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Final
|
|
#14 Western Washington (18-4, 12-3)
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23
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25
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18
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32
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1
|
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Alaska Anchorage (19-5, 10-4)
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25
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23
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25
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34
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3
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The Vikings (18-4, 12-3 GNAC) return home for the final three matches of the regular season, beginning with a match next Saturday (Nov. 15) hosting nationally ranked Simon Fraser (17-4, 11-4 GNAC) on Saturday with first serve in Carver Gym at 7 pm. The match vs. the Red Leafs will stream live on the GNAC Network with live coverage links at WWUVikings.com/Live. The complete 2025 season schedule can be viewed at WWUVikings.com/25_VB.
Kills – Speer (20), Burchak (12), Oestreich (10)
Aces – Oestreich (4), Claeys (3), Speer (1)
Blocks – Vossenkuhl (5), Burchak (3), Oestreich (2)
Assists – Hansen (28), Holland (20), Claeys (5)
Digs – Oestreich (21), Claeys (16), Speer (11)
Points – Speer (21.0), Oestreich (15.5), Burchak (13.5), Vossenkuhl (11.0)
Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Alaska Anchorage:
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COMPARISON
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WWU
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UAA
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Attack Pct.
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.164 (61-32-177)
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.253 (67-23-174)
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Kills
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61
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67
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Assists
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56
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62
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Service Aces
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8
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4
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Solo Blocks
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2
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1
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Block Assists
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8
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22
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Total Blocks
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5.0
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12.0
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Tie Scores: 36 Lead Changes: 23
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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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18-4
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Streak
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L1
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Home
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8-1
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Away
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8-3
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Neutral
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2-0
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GNAC Record
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12-3
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Non-Conference
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6-1
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3-Set Matches
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9-1
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4-Set Matches
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8-1
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5-Set Matches
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1-1
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Ranked Opponents
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5-2
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Winning First Set
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15-0
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Dropping First Set
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3-4
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Record by Jersey
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White
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3-1
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Light Blue
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7-1
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Dark Gray
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0-0
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Navy Blue
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4-0
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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 eighth week of the conference schedule. 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.
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Home
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Away
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Neutral
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Streak
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L10
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|
1.
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Central Washington
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12-2
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.857
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16-5
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.762
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6-1
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7-2
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3-2
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W5
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9-1
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2.
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Western Washington
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12-3
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.800
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18-4
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.818
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8-1
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8-3
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2-0
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L1
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7-3
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3.
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Alaska Fairbanks
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11-3
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.786
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20-4
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.833
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9-1
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5-2
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6-1
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W1
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7-3
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4.
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Simon Fraser
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11-4
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.733
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17-4
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.810
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7-1
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6-3
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4-0
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L2
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7-3
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5.
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Alaska Anchorage
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10-4
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.714
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19-5
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.792
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12-2
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5-2
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2-1
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W2
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6-4
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6.
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Seattle Pacific
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5-9
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.357
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10-12
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.455
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2-5
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3-4
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5-3
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W2
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5-5
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|
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Northwest Nazarene
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5-9
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.357
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6-15
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.286
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4-7
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2-6
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0-2
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L1
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5-5
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8.
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Saint Martin's
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5-10
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.333
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12-11
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.522
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4-4
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2-6
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6-1
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W1
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3-7
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9.
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Western Oregon
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1-14
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.067
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2-21
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.087
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1-8
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0-9
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1-4
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L6
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1-9
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10.
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Montana State Billings
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0-14
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.000
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2-18
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.100
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0-8
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1-8
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1-2
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L1
|
1-9
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This Week's GNAC Schedule & Results
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Thursday, November 6:
Western Washington 3, at Alaska Fairbanks 0
Simon Fraser at Alaska Anchorage, 7:00 pm AKT
Northwest Nazarene at Western Oregon, 7:00 pm
Central Washington at Saint Martin's, 7:00 pm
Saturday, November 8:
at Alaska Fairbanks 3, Western Washington 1
at Seattle Pacific 3, Montana State Billings 0
at Saint Martin's 3, Northwest Nazarene 2
Central Washington 3, at Western Oregon 0
at Alaska Anchorage 3, Western Washington 1
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Here is a match-by-match look at the 2025 season with current results and the schedule:
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Date
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Opponent
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|
Score
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Score-by-set
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WWU Invitational (Bellingham, WA)
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|
9/4
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Cal Poly Pomona (#7)
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L
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1-3
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25-27,16-25,25-21,12-25
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9/5
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St. Cloud State (#3)
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W
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3-1
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21-25,25-23,26-24,25-16
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9/6
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San Francisco State (#4)
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W
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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
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UC Merced
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W
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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)
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W
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3-0
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25-19,25-19,25-22
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9/12
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Hawai'i Hilo
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W
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3-1
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25-16,15-25,25-21,27-25
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9/13
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Hawai'i Pacific
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W
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3-0
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25-14,25-19,25-22
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Great Northwest Athletic Conference
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|
9/18
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@Northwest Nazarene (GNAC)
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W
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3-1
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25-15,25-14,21-25,25-16
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|
9/20
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@Central Washington (GNAC)
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W
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3-2
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23-25,25-23,25-20,21-25,15-11
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|
9/25
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Montana State Billings (GNAC)
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W
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3-0
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25-7,34-32,25-12
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|
9/27
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Seattle Pacific (GNAC)
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W
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3-1
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26-24,25-15,22-25,25-18
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10/2
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@Western Oregon (GNAC)
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W
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3-0
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27-25,25-20,25-21
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10/4
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@Saint Martin's (GNAC)
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L
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0-3
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15-25,14-25,17-25
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|
10/9
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Alaska Anchorage (GNAC)
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W
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3-1
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27-25,21-25,25-13,28-26
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|
10/11
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Alaska Fairbanks (GNAC) (#18)
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W
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3-0
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25-23,25-21,25-15
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|
10/17
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@Simon Fraser (GNAC)(#9)
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L
|
2-3
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17-25,26-28,25-20,26-24,12-15
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|
10/23
|
@Seattle Pacific (GNAC)
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W
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3-1
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22-25,25-21,25-15,25-16
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|
10/25
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@Montana St. Billings (GNAC)
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W
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3-0
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25-12, 25-15, 25-9
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|
10/30
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Saint Martin's (GNAC)
|
W
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3-0
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25-19,25-23,25-20
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|
11/1
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Western Oregon (GNAC)
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W
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3-0
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25-15,25-18,25-13
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|
11/6
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@Alaska Fairbanks (GNAC) (#19)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-17,25-20,25-20
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|
11/8
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@Alaska Anchorage (GNAC)
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L
|
1-3
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23-25,25-23,18-25,32-34
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|
11/15
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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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