Western Washington University Athletics

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Western Washington University volleyball team dropped its season opening match against defending West Region champion Point Loma Thursday afternoon at the CWU Invitational inside Nicholson Arena.

The No. 20 nationally ranked Vikings fell to the No. 4 Sea Lions in straight sets 25-17, 25-19, 25-17.

"It was a tough opening opponent, but I like the fight we had especially on the defensive end," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "Our block and defense had a lot of great touches to create longer rallies."

Senior outside hitter and preseason All-GNAC selection Delaney Speer led the Vikings with a 14-kill, 10-dig double-double while recording a .382 hitting percentage. It marked Speer's sixth consecutive double-double dating back to the end of last season.

"Delaney was so great in the season opener, carrying a heavy load and being a great leader," added Flick-Williams.

The Vikings recorded five service aces with three from sophomore Chayse Flick-Williams.

Point Loma, a 28-5 team from a year ago that advanced to the national semifinals, was led by three players with double-digits in kills. Gianna Callari (12 kills), Ila Rose (11 kills) and Kaitlyn Cabral (10 kills) helped PLNU to a 50-23 advantage in kills over the Vikings.

The Vikings (0-1) are back in action Friday afternoon with the second match of their trip to Ellensburg for the CWU Invitational, taking on Chaminade at 1:30 pm in Nicholson Arena. The match will feature a pay-per-view live webcast on the GNAC Network. The complete 2026 season schedule is available at WWUVikings.com with season and single match tickets available at WWUVikings.com/Tickets.

Delaney Speer recorded her 30th career double-double and sixth consecutive dating back to the end of last season … freshmen Maya Quitiquit (12 assists, 7 digs) and Jasmine Terry (2 kills, 2 digs), and sophomore Aly Skagen made their collegiate debut.

Kills – Speer (14), Stuber (4), Vossenkuhl (2)

Aces – Flick-Williams (3), Turcinec (1), Claeys (1)

Blocks – Vossenkuhl (2), Stuber (1)

Assists – Quitiquit (12), Hansen (8), Claeys (1)

Digs – Claeys (13), Speer (10), Flick-Williams (8)

Points – Speer (14.0), Stuber (4.5), Vossenkuhl (3.5)

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Point Loma:

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

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