NAMPA, Idaho – After battling travel challenges and taking a long bus trip to Idaho, the Western Washington University volleyball team rose to the occasion Saturday completing the 2026 season with a reverse-sweep five-set victory over Northwest Nazarene University inside the Johnson Sports Center.
The Vikings were scheduled to arrive in Nampa on a flight on Friday, but the national flight grounding forced the travel party to get creative for the journey to Idaho. The team drove to Yakima Friday late afternoon to catch a bus, stayed overnight in the Tri Cities and completed the journey Saturday to Nampa.
After dropping the first two sets to the Nighthawks 25-17 and 27-25, the Vikings comeback included a pair of 25-20 set victories to push the match to a decisive fifth set. WWU closed out the second reverse sweep victory of the season winning the fifth set 16-14.
WWU completed the 2026 season with a 13-11 overall record (going 4-2 over the last six matches) and finished 5th in the GNAC standings at 10-8.
"Well, we obviously have a flare for the dramatic. I'm really proud of this group for responding to everything that we went through the past two days," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "We got great contributions from everyone, led by another double-double by Delaney (Speer). Our true MVP was Dani Turcinec who gave the most inspirational speeches. I could not be happier for our four seniors who have left a lasting impression on everyone and am grateful for every moment with them."
Senior outside hitter Delaney Speer capped her collegiate career with her 17th double-double of the season (and 46th of her career) with 20 kills, 13 digs, three service aces for 23.5 points. Speer finished with 1,137 career kills to rank 11th in program history and 1,170 digs to rank 15th.
Senior Finnley Claeys and sophomore Chayse Flick-Williams each totaled 19 digs to lead the Vikings defense. Claeys concluded her career with 1,227 digs to rank 12th in program history. Senior middle Emily Vossenkuhl recorded three blocks to finish her career with 422 total blocks, tied for 8th in program history.
The Vikings setter duo of senior Caroline Hansen (28 assists, 7 digs, 2 aces) and freshman Maya Quitiquit (24 assists, 10 digs, 2 aces) distributed the ball to five players with at least seven kills. Hansen finished her career with 1,540 assist to rank 15th in program history.
WWU recorded 10 service aces marking the seventh match with double-digits aces in a match this season, finishing the season with a GNAC-best 194 aces.
Northwest Nazarene (14-11, 8-10) was led by a 19-kill, 13-dig double-double from Abby Black, 21 digs by Kayci Spray and eight blocks by Hailey Cheney.
WWU swept the season series vs. NNU, winning both matches in five sets, extending its winning streak against the Nighthawks to 18 consecutive matches.
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NCAA Volleyball
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1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
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Final
|
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Western Washington (13-11, 10-8)
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17
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25
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25
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25
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16
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3
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Northwest Nazarene (14-11, 8-10)
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25
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27
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20
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20
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14
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2
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Kills – Speer (20), Stuber (12), Skagen (10), Terry (9)
Aces – Speer (3), Hansen (2), Turcinec (2)
Blocks – Zaddack (5), Skagen (4), Vossenkuhl (3)
Assists – Hansen (28), Quitiquit (24), Claeys (3)
Digs – Claeys (19), Flick-Williams (19), Speer (13), Quitiquit (10)
Points – Speer (23.5), Stuber (12.5), Skagen (12.0), Terry (9.5)
Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Northwest Nazarene:
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COMPARISON
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WWU
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NNU
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Attack Pct.
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.159 (66-34-201)
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.204 (56-22-167)
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Kills
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66
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56
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Assists
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58
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52
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Service Aces
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10
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3
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Solo Blocks
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1
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3
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Block Assists
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14
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18
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Total Blocks
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8.0
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12.0
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Tie Scores: 31 Lead Changes: 8
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Here is a look at Western's final record breakdown for the 2026 season:
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2026 RECORD BREAKDOWN
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|
Overall Record
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13-11
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Streak
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W1
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Home
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6-3
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Away
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4-6
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Neutral
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3-2
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GNAC Record
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10-8
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Non-Conference
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3-3
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3-Set Matches
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3-6
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4-Set Matches
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6-3
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5-Set Matches
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4-2
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Ranked Opponents
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2-6
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Winning First Set
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7-1
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Dropping First Set
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6-10
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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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3-3
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Navy Blue
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5-5
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Light Gray
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2-2
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GNAC STANDINGS & WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Here is a look at the final GNAC Volleyball standings and results following Saturday's matches conclude the 2026 season. Updated conference standings, results, schedule and statistics can be found online at GNACSports.com.
|
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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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15-3
|
.833
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19-5
|
.792
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11-1
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7-3
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1-1
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L1
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9-1
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2.
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Alaska Anchorage
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14-4
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.778
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21-7
|
.750
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10-2
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7-3
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4-2
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W7
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9-1
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|
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Simon Fraser
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14-4
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.778
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17-7
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.708
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8-1
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6-4
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3-2
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W1
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7-3
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4.
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Seattle Pacific
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13-5
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.722
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18-8
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.692
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7-2
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7-5
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4-1
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L1
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7-3
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5.
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Western Washington
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10-8
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.556
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13-11
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.542
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6-3
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4-6
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3-2
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W1
|
6-4
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6.
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Northwest Nazarene
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8-10
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.444
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14-11
|
.560
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5-4
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5-6
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4-1
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L1
|
4-6
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7.
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Saint Martin's
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6-12
|
.333
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10-16
|
.385
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3-6
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3-6
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4-4
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W2
|
3-7
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8.
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Western Oregon
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5-13
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.278
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9-17
|
.346
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3-6
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3-9
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3-2
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L2
|
3-7
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9.
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Alaska Fairbanks
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4-14
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.222
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12-16
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.429
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4-8
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5-8
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3-0
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W1
|
1-9
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10.
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Montana State Billings
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1-17
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.056
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5-23
|
.179
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2-8
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1-11
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2-4
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L5
|
2-8
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This Week's GNAC Schedule & Results
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Thursday, November 12:
Alaska Anchorage 3, at Montana State Billings 0
at Central Washington 3, Western Washington 0
at Seattle Pacific 3, Alaska Fairbanks 0
at Northwest Nazarene 3, Simon Fraser 0
Saturday, November 14:
Alaska Fairbanks 3, at Montana State Billings 1
at Saint Martin's 3, Western Oregon 0
Alaska Anchorage 3, at Seattle Pacific 2
Simon Fraser 3, at Central Washington 2
Western Washington 3, at Northwest Nazarene 2
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Here is a match-by-match look at the 2026 season:
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Date
|
Opponent
|
|
Score
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Score-by-set
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CWU Invitational (Ellensburg, WA)
|
|
8/27
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Point Loma (#4)
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L
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0-3
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17-25, 19-25, 17-25
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8/28
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Chaminade
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W
|
3-2
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26-28, 21-25, 25-20, 26-24, 17-15
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|
8/29
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San Francisco State
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W
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3-1
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28-26, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19
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|
Bronco Classic (Pomona, CA)
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|
9/3
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Cal St. San Bernardino (#23)
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L
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0-3
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13-25, 11-25, 15-25
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|
9/4
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Cal Poly Pomona (RV)
|
L
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0-3
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22-25, 19-25, 17-25
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|
9/5
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Cal State LA
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W
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3-1
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25-9, 15-25, 25-19, 27-25
|
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Great Northwest Athletic Conference
|
|
9/10
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Northwest Nazarene (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-2
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23-25, 25-15, 25-19, 23-25, 15-8
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9/12
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Central Washington (GNAC) (#20)
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W
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3-0
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25-20, 25-18, 25-15
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9/18
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@Simon Fraser (GNAC) (#21)
|
L
|
2-3
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25-27, 25-20, 23-25, 25-17, 13-15
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|
9/24
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@Alaska Anchorage (GNAC)
|
L
|
2-3
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25-18, 27-29, 26-28, 25-21, 15-17
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|
9/26
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@Alaska Fairbanks (GNAC) (#22)
|
L
|
1-3
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14-25, 25-21, 22-25, 22-25
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|
10/1
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Western Oregon (GNAC)
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W
|
3-1
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25-17, 23-25, 25-23, 25-12
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|
10/3
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Saint Martin's (GNAC)
|
L
|
1-3
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18-25, 25-23, 24-26, 16-25
|
|
10/8
|
@Montana State Billings (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-1
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25-20, 21-25, 26-24, 25-15
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|
10/10
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@Seattle Pacific (GNAC)
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L
|
0-3
|
15-25, 23-25, 24-26
|
|
10/16
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Simon Fraser (GNAC) (#20)
|
W
|
3-1
|
26-28, 25-18, 25-22, 25-23
|
|
10/22
|
Alaska Fairbanks (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-19, 25-22, 25-23
|
|
10/24
|
Alaska Anchorage (GNAC)
|
L
|
3-1
|
20-25, 21-25, 25-19, 23-25
|
|
10/29
|
@Saint Martin's (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-0
|
25-17, 25-19, 25-22
|
|
10/31
|
@Western Oregon (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-2
|
21-25, 25-17, 27-29, 25-16, 15-13
|
|
11/5
|
Seattle Pacific (GNAC) (#25)
|
L
|
3-0
|
25-19, 25-20, 25-21
|
|
11/7
|
Montana State Billings (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-1
|
15-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-15
|
|
11/12
|
@Central Washington (GNAC) (#14)
|
L
|
3-0
|
25-18, 25-19, 25-21
|
|
11/14
|
@Northwest Nazarene (GNAC)
|
W
|
3-2
|
17-25, 24-26, 25-20, 25-20, 16-14
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