Western Washington University Athletics

BURNABY, B.C. – Making its final trip to Burnaby Mountain to face border rival Simon Fraser, the Western Washington University volleyball team dropped a five-set thriller against the Red Leafs Friday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action.

The Vikings dropped to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in GNAC play with the tightly-contested 25-27, 25-20, 23-25, 25-17, 13-15 loss snapping Western's three-match winning streak. The match featured 24 tie scores and 12 lead changes.

"It was a tough battle as always at SFU. I thought we had some great moments, and quite frankly, some not so great moments, but that's the price to learning," said WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "I am looking forward to getting in the gym to iron those things out."

WWU held a late lead in the first and third-set losses but pushed the match to a deciding fifth set with a dominating fourth-set performance winning 25-17. The Vikings trailed in the fifth set 11-6 and 13-8 before mounting a furious comeback to pull to within one point at 14-13 following a 5-1 run. SFU closed out the match to win its fourth consecutive meeting against WWU.

WWU recorded 16 service aces in the match to tie for the most by a GNAC team this season and tied for 2nd-most in program history. Led by five aces from sophomore Chayse Flick-Williams and four from senior Finnley Claeys, the 16 aces are the most by a Viking squad since 2006.

Senior pin hitter Delaney Speer led the Vikings with 20 kills on an efficient .264 hitting percentage, also contributing six digs, three aces and a trio of blocks for 24.5 points. Sophomore pin hitter Aly Skagen (15 kills, 3 blocks) and senior middle Emily Vossenkuhl (11 kills, 4 blocks) also reached double-digits in kills.

Flick-Williams not only had a banner night on the service line with the five aces, but also led the team with 15 digs. The setter duo of senior Caroline Hansen (22 assists, 10 digs) and freshman Maya Quitiquit (25 assists, 11 digs) both recorded double-doubles. Sophomore Brooke Berglund led Western with a career-high eight blocks.

Reigning GNAC Player of the Week Megan Hawkins led SFU with 22 kills, 10 digs and four blocks, with Katarina Damnjanovic (17 kills), Brooklyn Robinson (13 kills) and Nina Kovacevic (12 kills) also reaching double-figures in kills. The SFU foursome of kill leaders combined to record 64 of the Red Leafs 71 total kills. Setter Ella McVittie paced the SFU offense with 49 assists and Logan Remington recorded eight blocks.

WWU made its final trip to West Gym on Burnaby Mountain, with Simon Fraser playing its final season in the GNAC before moving back to the Canadian U Sports division.

The Vikings (5-4, 2-1 GNAC) remains on the road next week traveling to the 49th state for its annual trip to face Alaska Anchorage (Thursday, Sept. 24) and nationally ranked Alaska Fairbanks (Saturday, September 26), with both matches featuring a 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.

Kills – Speer (20), Skagen (15), Vossenkuhl (11)

Aces – Flick-Williams (5), Claeys (4), Speer (3)

Blocks – Berglund (8), Terry (5), Vossenkuhl (4), Speer (3), Skagen (3)

Assists – Quitiquit (25), Hansen (22)

Digs – Flick-Williams (15), Quitiquit (11), Hansen (10)

Points – Speer (24.5), Skagen (16.0), Vossenkuhl (13.0), Terry (9.5)

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 in 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: