By: Jeff Evans, Assistant AD for Athletic Communications
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – There is no slowing down for the Western Washington University Vikings, with several marquee events highlighting the first week of December.
The No. 15 nationally ranked volleyball team heads to the postseason as the No. 6 seed in the eight-team West Regional Championship in San Diego, California. WWU faces No. 3 seed and No. 8 nationally ranked Fresno Pacific at 11 am on Thursday (Dec. 4) on the Point Loma Nazarene University campus.
Both Viking basketball teams open GNAC play with the women's team on the road at Montana State Billings (Wednesday) and Seattle Pacific (Friday) and the men's team hosting Northwest Nazarene (Thursday, 7 pm) and rival Central Washington (Saturday, 5 pm) in Carver Gym.
The Western Track & Field team also features an early start to the 2025-26 season with All-American Bec Bennett competing at the Silver State Invitational in Reno, Nevada.
All event information, including ticket prices and live game coverage, can be found online at WWUVikings.com. For the third consecutive year, all current WWU students receive free admission to home regular-season games. Here are some handy links to follow the Vikings:
5 PM SATURDAY BASKETBALL GAMES
Please note that nearly all of our Saturday home basketball games the remainder of the season feature a 5 pm tip-off. We hope this allows for more families and community members to come out and support our teams in GNAC games in home games in Carver Gym. There were some season tickets printed with the incorrect time, so please make note of this change for upcoming Saturday games.
Click on the link below to read the great story in Cascadia Daily News on WWU senior volleyball student-athlete Devyn Oestreich. The article was written by Nick Zeller-Singh and the great photo taken by Andy Bronson.
The Vikings make their return to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 6 seed in the highly-competitive West Region. WWU opens the postseason on Thursday (Dec. 4) taking on No. 3 seed Fresno Pacific in an 11 am match in San Diego on the campus of Point Loma Nazarene University. Western is making its 17th appearance in the NCAA West Regional Championship and the 11th in the last 13 seasons. The Vikings enter the NCAA Championships with a 19-6 overall record after going 13-5 in GNAC play. The conference produced five of the eight teams in the West Region bracket with GNAC co-champions No. 2 Simon Fraser, No. 4 Alaska Anchorage, No. 5 Alaska Fairbanks and No. 7 Central Washington joining WWU in San Diego. The Vikings feature three All-GNAC selections including Player of the Year Devyn Oestreich, first-teamer Delaney Speer and honorable mention middle Emily Vossenkuhl. Oestreich and Speer both earned First Team All-West Region honors from the AVCA.
- Overall Record: 19-6
- GNAC: 13-5 (5th place)
- National Ranking: #15 West Region: #6
Thursday, December 4
Fresno Pacific – 11 am (San Diego, CA – Golden Gymnasium)
NCAA Champs Pass | Live Stats
Streaming FREE on NCAA Championships Pass
The Vikings carry a four-game winning streak and 7-2 overall record into the start of conference play this week traveling to play at Montana State Billings on Wednesday (7 pm MT/6 pm PT) and Seattle Pacific on Friday (7 pm). WWU is coming off a 2-0 showing in the Lynda Goodrich Classic with victories over previously unbeaten University of Mary (72-63) and San Francisco State (76-59). The Vikings were powered by all-tournament selections senior forward Olivia Hodges and junior guards Libby Stump and Demi Dykstra. Hodges has emerged as one of the top players in the nation during the early part of the 2025-26 season averaging 17.6 points and 12.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 54.7-percent from the field (52-for-95). She was selected as the NCAA II National Player of the Week following her big performance at the GNAC/PacWest Challenge that featured a 37-point, 17-rebound double-double. Hodges has tallied a double-double in seven of nine games to lead the nation in that category and is 5th in NCAA II in rebounding average. Stump (14.9 points/game) and Dykstra (12.1 points/game) are also averaging double figures in scoring.
GNAC BASKETBALL
Wednesday – at Montana State Billings (7:00 pm MT)
Friday – at Seattle Pacific (7:00 pm)
Webcast | Live Stats
The Vikings open GNAC play with a pair of home games in Carver Gym, hosting Northwest Nazarene on Thursday (7 pm) and rival Central Washington in Saturday (5 pm). WWU made its home opener last Friday dropping a non-conference game to UC Colorado Springs 85-81 after opening the season with seven consecutive road games. The Vikings are 3-5 overall on the season heading into the start of the 18-game conference schedule. Western features three guards averaging double-digits in scoring with sophomore Aidan Rice leading the way with 17.1 points per game. Junior transfers Nehemiah Pollard (15.8 points/game) and Malachi Miller (11.0 points/game) have also been steady offensive weapons for the Vikings, with Pollard coming off a career-high 33-point performance in his last game vs. UCCS. Team captains Garrett Levesque, Trevor White and Rice were all selected to the GNAC Preseason All-Conference team.
GNAC BASKETBALL
Thursday – Northwest Nazarene (7:00 pm)
Saturday – Central Washington (5:00 pm)
Webcast | Live Stats
WWU returns to action in Track & Field with the unofficial start to the 2025-26 indoor season this weekend in Reno, Nevada. Indoor All-American Bec Bennett makes her season debut at the Silver State Invitational in the 60m and her marquee 400m races, with running events scheduled for Friday and Saturday in the Reno Sparks Convention Center. A large portion of the team will make their indoor debut the following week on Saturday, December 13 at the Spokane Invitational at The Podium.
The Vikings capped another historic season with both teams qualifying for nationals in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with the men's squad highlighting the trip with a 9th-place finish. It was the men's second-best performance at nationals. The women's team registered a top 20 finish in 18th place. WWU swept the GNAC team titles for the fourth consecutive season and both earned automatic bids to the 34-team national championship with the men placing 2nd and women 3rd at the regional meet. The Vikings were one of 17 programs nationwide to send both a men's and women's team to nationals in Wisconsin.
The Vikings had a sudden end to their season after entering the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the West Region, eliminated by Azusa Pacific in the regional semifinal in a penalty kick shootout. WWU won its 11th GNAC regular-season title going undefeated at 11-0-3 in conference play. The program made their 14th appearance in the NCAA postseason and 12th in the last 13 seasons. The team earned a plethora of individual awards with senior forward Morgan Manalili earning GNAC and West Region Player of the Year honors. Western finished the year with a 14-1-7 overall mark, going undefeated over the final 18 games with the GNAC final and NCAA tournament game officially classified as a tie.
- Overall Record: 14-1-7
- GNAC: 11-0-3 (1st place)
