Western Washington University Athletics

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – From start to finish, the Western Washington University volleyball team recorded its most complete performance of the season, defeating No. 20 nationally ranked and first-place Simon Fraser University in four sets Friday night on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

 

WWU earned a 3-1 victory over SFU with set scores of 26-28, 25-18, 25-22, 25-23 to open the second half of the 18-match Great Northwest Athletic Conference season. The Vikings evened their season record at 8-8 overall and moved into fifth place in the GNAC standings at 5-5. Friday's match in front of 784 fans was highlighted by the annual Pink Night honoring Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

 

"I am really proud of our team and the week of practice that we had. We have been on the other side of two-point sets all year and they stayed diligent in finding those points tonight," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "Our serving was a catalyst for us and our defense made some key plays."

 

The Vikings were led by a strong serve-receive performance resulting in 14 service aces and a dominating 25-kill, 13-dig, 2-ace performance from senior outside hitter Delaney Speer. Speer not only matched her career-high with 25 kills but also made history passing the 1,000-kill mark for her career. She became the 17th Viking to join the elite 1,000-kill club and just the seventh with at least 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. She also recorded 11th double-double of the season while hitting at a .333 clip.

 

"Delaney was in command of her swings tonight and carried the load for us. Her reaching the 1,000/1,000 club is incredible and is a testament to how she works every day to get better," added Flick-Williams. "She's such a quality person and leader too and I couldn't be prouder of her."

 

Freshman setter Maya Quitiquit (4 aces), senior libero Finnley Claeys (3 aces), sophomore defensive specialist Chayse Flick-Williams (3 aces), sophomore defensive specialist Dani Turcinec (2 aces) and Speer (2 aces) combined for the 14 aces as the Vikings reached double-figures in service aces for the fifth time this season.

 

Led by Speer's big all-around night, the Vikings .217 team hitting percentage tied for the third-best team mark of the season. Senior setter Caroline Hansen led the Vikings with 20 assists and Quitiquit had an 18-assist, 13-dig double-double to go with her four aces.

 

Senior middle Emily Vossenkuhl continued to towards the 400-block mark for her career leading Western with four blocks, while also contributing six kills, including the final point of the match to send the Vikings to the victory. Freshman Jasmine Terry added eight kills on a .375 hitting percentage and was credited with a pair of blocks.

 

Western trailed 20-16 in the opening set but rallied to pull ahead 22-21 going on a 6-1 run. The Vikings had set point at 24-23 but the Red Leafs fought back and took the opener 28-26.

 

WWU used another 6-1 run in the second set to build a 16-11 lead and evened the match 1-1 pulling away with a 7-1 scoring run to win 25-18.

 

SFU built an early 11-4 lead in the third set but the Vikings answered with an 11-3 scoring stretch to take a 15-14 lead. The Vikings used a 5-1 run to build a 20-16 lead, but SFU answered with a 6-1 run to take a one-point lead. Western finished the set with four consecutive points – including a kill and ace from Quitiquit – to go up 2-1 in the match.

 

Western had a hot start to the fourth set building a 7-1 lead and held off a late SFU rally to clinch the match with a 25-23 fourth-set victory. The Red Leafs went on a 7-1 run to tie the set 22-22 (and 23-23), but the Vikings put the set away with kills from Terry and Vossenkuhl to seal the match.

 

SFU dropped to 11-5 overall and moved into a three-way tie for first place in the GNAC with Central Washington and Seattle Pacific at 8-2 in conference matches. The Red Leafs made their final appearance in Carver Gym as a GNAC and NCAA member, with the school's athletic programs departing for Canada U Sports and Canada West following the 2026-27 season.

 

"I am sad to see Simon Fraser leave the league," said Flick-Williams of WWU's border rival. "Gina Schmidt is a great coach and the program has always had high-class people who are fun to compete with. I wish them the best and thank their program for many great battles over the years."

 

 

The Vikings (8-8, 5-5 GNAC) remain at home next week hosting Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday and Alaska Anchorage on Saturday, with both GNAC matches featuring a 7 pm first serve on WECU Court in Carver Gym. The complete 2026 season schedule is available at WWUVikings.com with season and single match tickets available at WWUVikings.com/Tickets.

 

Senior Delaney Speer joined the 1,000-kill, 1,000-dig club for her career Friday vs. Simon Fraser. Speer joined an elite seven-player group in WWU history to reach both of those statistical milestones:

 

 

Kills – Speer (25), Terry (8), Skagen (7), Vossenkuhl (6)

Aces – Quitiquit (4), Claeys (3), Flick-Williams (3), Speer (2), Turcinec (2)

Blocks – Vossenkuhl (4), Zaddack (3), Alo (2)

Assists – Hansen (20), Quitiquit (18), Vossenkuhl (4)

Digs - Flick-Williams (17), Speer (13), Quitiquit (13), Claeys (10)

Points – Speer (27.5), Terry (9.0), Vossenkuhl (8.0), Skagen (7.5)

 

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

 

 

Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2026 season:

 

 

Here is a look at the updated GNAC Volleyball standings and results following Friday's matches during the sixth week of conference play. Updated conference standings, results, schedule and statistics can be found online at GNACSports.com.

 

 

Here is a match-by-match look at the 2026 season with current results and the schedule: