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Oct. 9, 2012

AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Following a sweep of its longest road trip, the nationally ranked and league-leading Western Washington University volleyball team makes its shortest junket Saturday (7 p.m.), Oct. 13, going to Simon Fraser University for a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match.

The Vikings, who climbed two spots to No.14 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association Coaches' NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, are 14-2 overall and first in the GNAC standings at 7-1, one-half match ahead of No. 22 Central Washington (6-1, 12-4, hosts Western Oregon on Oct. 11 and Saint Martin's on Oct. 13). They have won four straight matches, all in three sets and have 10 sweeps this season.

THE LAST MEETING

Western Washington	3
Simon Fraser	0

October 29, 2011
Burnaby, B.C.

WWU wins in three at Simon Fraser, tied for second in GNAC Outside hitter Marlayna Geary had her 10th double-double of the season with team highs of 12 kills and 11 digs and middle blocker Emily Jepsen added nine kills and a match-high three blocks as Western Washington University swept Simon Fraser University, 25-17, 25-16, 25-20, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match Saturday at West Gymnasium.

Recap | Box Score

Last week, WWU had its first sweep of a road trip to Alaska since 2007 with three-set wins at Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage. The victory at UAA snapped the Seawolves' eight-match winning streak and ended their 35-match string of not being swept at home that dated back to Sept. 18, 2009.

Senior outside hitter Marlayna Geary (Tacoma/Bellarmine) ranks seventh nationally in both points (5.04) and kills (4.45, 249) per set. She leads the GNAC in each category, while also being fourth in service aces (21, 0.38), fifth in attack percentage (.318) and 13th in digs (166, 2.96).

Geary moved up to third among WWU career leaders in kills with 1,207 and needs 21 to tie for second. The school record of 1,379 is held by Meghan Evoy (2001-04).

Sophomore middle blocker Kayla Erickson (Gig Harbor/Peninsula) is second among GNAC leaders in kill percentage (.430), fifth in blocks (54, 0.96) and seventh in kills (3.32, 186).

The Vikings, coached by Diane Flick (13th year, 263-72), have two other players ranked among the top 10 NCAA II national statistical leaders and leading the GNAC. They are senior setter Laurie Yearout (Spokane/Lewis & Clark), third in assists (694, 12.29), and sophomore libero Samantha Hutchinson (University Place/Curtis), fifth in digs (338, 6.04).

Yearout ranks fourth among WWU career leaders with 2,681.

WWU ranks among the top 10 nationally and leads the GNAC in three team categories, being sixth in both assists (13.75) and hitting percentage (.278) and 10th in kills (14.3).

The Vikings hold a 55-32 series advantage over Simon Fraser, winning the last three meetings.

NOTES: The Vikings were the preseason favorite in the GNAC Coaches' Poll ... WWU has won 22 of its last 23 matches at Carver Gym (4-0 this season) since late in 2009, including their last nine. The Vikings have a winning percentage of .901(109-12) at home since going to a SportCourt surface in 2000 and is 224-78 overall (74.2 percent) overall at Carver Gym ... Geary has twice been named GNAC Offensive Player of the Week this season. Hutchinson is a two-time Defensive POW and Erickson earned Offensive POW accolades ... Geary has posted 11 double-doubles this season in kills and digs ... WWU opened the season by being the only team to go undefeated at the Western Oregon Invitational, winning all four of its matches. The following week, the Vikings tied for the title at the Sonoma State Seawolf Spike Invitational, winning three of four matches. That performance earned them GNAC Team of the Week honors ... Geary was the MVP in both tournaments. Yearout earned all-tourney honors in both, and Hutchinson was all-tourney in the WOU Invitational ... The Vikings' highest national ranking this season has been No.13.

Great Northwest Athletic Conference

2012 Volleyball Week #6 (Oct. 9, 2012)

	                Conf.		All
	                W	L	W	L	H	A	N
Western Washington      7	1	14	2	4-0	4-1	6-1
Central Washington      6	1	12	4	3-0	4-3	5-1
Alaska Anchorage        5	2	10	5	8-1	1-2	1-2
Western Oregon          4	2	11	4	8-2	3-2	0-0
MSU Billings            4	3	7	8	2-1	2-5	3-2
Seattle Pacific         4	3	7	9	1-1	4-5	2-3
Saint Martin's          2	4	4	7	1-3	3-4	0-0
Northwest Nazarene      2	5	9	8	2-2	4-3	3-3
Alaska Fairbanks        1	6	3	10	3-4	0-6	0-0
Simon Fraser            0	8	2	12	0-5	1-5	1-2

LAST WEEK: Monday - Douglas at Simon Fraser, postponed. Tuesday - Walla Walla 0 at Central Washington 3 (25-3, 25-10, 25-2). Wednesday - Walla Walla 0 at Northwest Nazarene 0 (25-7, 25-6, 25-8). Thursday - Simon Fraser 0 at Alaska Anchorage 3 (25-10, 25-14, 25-17); Western Washington 3 at Alaska Fairbanks 0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-17); MSU Billings 3 at Saint Martin's 1 (16-25, 25-13, 25-19, 25-21); Seattle Pacific 3 at Western Oregon 0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-22). Saturday - Western Washington 3 at Alaska Anchorage 0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-18); Simon Fraser 1 at Alaska Fairbanks 3 (25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 25-17; Central Washington 3 at Northwest Nazarene 2 (23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 15-9); MSU Billings 1 at Western Oregon 3 (25-12, 20-25, 25-19, 25-15); Seattle Pacific 3 at Saint Martin's (25-19, 25-18, 25-14).

THIS WEEK: Tuesday - Northwest Nazarene at Eastern Oregon. Wednesday - Capilano at Simon Fraser. Thursday - Alaska Anchorage at Seattle Pacific; Alaska Fairbanks at MSU Billings; Western Oregon at Central Washington; Saint Martin's at Northwest Nazarene. Saturday - Alaska Anchorage at MSU Billings; Alaska Fairbanks at Seattle Pacific, 3 p.m.; Saint Martin's at Central Washington; Western Oregon at Northwest Nazarene; Western Washington at Simon Fraser.

POLLS: AVCA (Oct. 8) - 14. Western Washington; 22. Central Washington; 37. Western Oregon.

NCAA NATIONAL STATISTICS (Through Oct. 7): Team (Top 30): Assists - 6. Western Washington 13.75. Blocks - 16. Western Oregon 2.44; 24. Central Washington 2.31. Hitting PCT. - 6. Western Washington .278. Kills - 10. Western Washington 14.30. Individuals (Top 30): Assists - 3. Laurie Yearout, WWU, 12.39; 13. Kimya Jafroudi, UAA, 11.17; 28, Shelby Swanson, SPU, 10.33. Blocks - 14. Becky Blees, WOU, 1.34. Digs - 5. Samantha Hutchinson, WWU, 6.04; 8. Erin Compton, MSUB, 5.80; 25. Linnea Phillips, NNU, 5.08; 29. Kaely Kight, CWU, 4.95. Hitting PCT. - 3 Krissi Kemper, WOU, .430. Kills - 7. Marlayna Geary, WWU, 4.45; 22. Cailin Fellows, SPU, 3.91. Points - 7. Marlayna Geary, WWU, 5.04; 28. Danielle Reese, WOU, 4.32.

ALL-TOURNAMENT: Western Oregon (Aug. 30-Sept. 1) - Marlayna Geary, WWU (MVP); Laurie Yearout, WWU; Krissi Kemper, WOU. Grand Canyon (Aug. 31-Sept. 1) - Erin Smith, CWU. Alaska Fairbanks (Aug. 31-Sept. 1) - Katlyn Mataya, UAF; Sam Harthun, UAF. Honolulu Invitational (Aug. 30-Sept. 1) - Cailin Fellows, SPU; Monica Grimsrud, MSUB. Sonoma State (Sept. 7-8) - Marlayna Geary, WWU (MVP); Samantha Hutchinson, WWU; Laurie Yearout, WWU. Alaska Anchorage (Sept. 7-8) - Kimya Jafroudi, UAA (MVP); Katelynn Zanders, UAA, Julia Mackey, UAA; Sarah Johnson, UAA. CSU Pueblo (Sept. 7-8) - Monica Grimsrud, MSUB; Erin Compton, MSUB. Notre Dame de Namur/CSU East Bay (Sept. 7-8) - Becky Flores, NNU.

GNAC RED LION PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offense - Megan Morrison, Alaska Fairbanks (OH, 5-11, Fr., Spring Hill, FL - Springstead) tallied 20 kills and hit for a .269 percentage as the Nanooks split two matches to end a 10-match losing streak. Entering this week's matches, Morrison, who also had nine blocks, only had 10 kills on the year and her week's hitting percentage was nearly 300 points better than her season average. She also doubled her season's blocks total as well. In Saturday's win against Simon Fraser, Morrison had 15 kills, seven blocks and a .353 hitting percentage.

Defense - Shelby Swanson, Seattle Pacific (S, 5-9, Sr., Kennewick, WA) had 36 assists and 18 digs earning her third consecutive double-double as Seattle Pacific swept Western Oregon on the Wolves' court. She also recorded 31 assists in Saturday's three-set victory at Saint Martin's as the Falcons posted back-to-back sweeps for the first time this season. Swanson, who is averaging 10.33 assists per set this season, now has 3,264 career assists which ranks eighth in GNAC history. She also has seven double-doubles this season and 24 in her career.

Honorable Mention - Marlayna Geary, Western Washington; Marcy Hjellum, Central Washington; Catie Fry, Central Washington; Kyndal Williams, MSU Billings; Michelle Terpstra, Northwest Nazarene; Samantha Ward, Western Oregon; Kristyn Ross, Saint Martin's.

VIKINGS EARN SWEEP: Marlayna Geary had 26 kills and hit for a .358 percentage as Western Washington swept both Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage, earning its first win at Anchorage since 2008. WWU's sweep of UAA snapped the Seawolves' 16-match home win streak and ended a streak of 35 straight matches in which UAA had not been swept at home. Katelynn Zanders led UAA with 26 kills as the Seawolves split their two matches.

PROVIDING AN ASSIST: Kyndal Williams had 85 assists, including a season-high 47 in Montana State Billings' 3-1 road victory at Saint Martin's. She also recorded 23 digs, posting double-doubles in both contests. Central Washington setter Catie Fry had 63 assists in six sets as the Wildcats ran their win streak to seven with victories over Walla Walla and Northwest Nazarene.

TRIPLE-DOUBLE: Michelle Terpstra had her second triple-double of the season recording 10 kills, 13 digs and 52 assists in Northwest Nazarene's 3-2 loss to Central Washington. A week earlier, she had 13 kills, 16 digs and 43 assists against Seattle Pacific, She is the only player in the GNAC to have a triple-double this season.

30 KILLS FOR FELLOWS: Cailin Fellows was on the receiving end of 30 of Shelby Swanson's 67 assists as she averaged five kills per set in SPU's three-set sweeps of Western Oregon and Saint Martin's. Fellows hit for a .301 percentage and also had 16 digs in the two matches. The Falcons also got 21 kills from Madi Cavell in the victories.

AROUND THE GNAC: Danielle Reese had 22 kills and Samantha Ward had 21 kills and 28 digs as Western Oregon divided two matches ... Monica Grimsrud led Montana State Billings with 28 kills in two contests ... Saint Martin's Kristyn Ross had 23 kills and 26 digs in a pair of matches. Jessica Young paced Simon Fraser with 18 kills in its two contests.

GNAC 44-34 IN NON-CONFERENCE: GNAC teams have posted a winning record during the non-conference portion of its schedule posting a 44-34 record. The GNAC had a winning record (13-12) against the CCAA, but ended up just 9-15 against the Pac West. Just five matches remain on the non-conference slate including two with Walla Walla. Central Washington plays at Walla Walla on Oct. 30 on the road. Northwest Nazarene plays at Eastern Oregon on Oct. 9 and at Walla Walla on Nov. 2. Saint Martin's visits Pacific Lutheran Oct. 23. Simon Fraser hosts Capilano Oct. 10.

UNBEATEN: Western Washington finished its non-conference slate with a 7-1 record. Only four times have GNAC teams finished unbeaten in non-conference regular-season matches - Seattle Pacific in 2003 (7-0) and 2010 (10-0), Central Washington in 2004 (8-0) and Western Washington in 2008 (8-0). . .The 2010 Falcons lost in the West Regional championship game, while the 2004 Wildcats lost in their opening-round playoff game. The 2003 Falcons and 2008 Vikings did not advance to the post-season.

GNAC (13) vs. CCAA (12): Northwest Nazarene 4-0, Western Oregon 1-0, Western Washington 4-1, Central Washington 3-2, Seattle Pacific 1-5, MSU Billings 0-1, Alaska Fairbanks 0-1, Alaska Anchorage 0-2.

GNAC (9) vs. PacWest (15): Alaska Anchorage 2-0, Western Oregon 2-1, Seattle Pacific 2-1, Northwest Nazarene 2-3, Alaska Fairbanks 1-3, Central Washington 0-1, MSU Billings 0-3, Saint Martin's 0-3.

PREVIOUS RED LION PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Week of Aug. 27-Sept. 2: Offense - Marlayna Geary, Western Washington (OH, 5-10, Sr., Tacoma, WA - Bellarmine Prep) had 59 kills and hit for a .356 percentage in leading the Vikings to four victories in the Western Oregon Invitational. Geary became the 29th player in GNAC history to record 1,000 career kills, increasing her career total to 1,017. She also had 50 digs, five service aces and three blocks and was named the Most Valuable Player. Defense - Erin Smith, Central Washington (MB, 5-10, Jr., Selah, WA) had a team-high 13 blocks and also contributed 51 kills as the Wildcats won three of four matches. Smith committed just six errors in 90 swings.

Week of Sept. 3-9: Offense - Marlayna Geary, Western Washington (OH, 5-10, Sr., Tacoma, WA - Bellarmine Prep) had a tourney-best 76 kills and a .314 attack percentage and also had 40 digs and a trio of double-doubles in leading the Vikings to a 3-1 record and a share of the tournament title in the Sonoma State Invitational at Rohnert Park. She also had nine blocks in earning MVP honors for the second week in a row. WWU tied for the tournament title. After losing to No. 25 UC San Diego, the Vikings handed Chico State its first loss of the season and then beat No. 23 Sonoma State. Defense - Samantha Hutchinson, Western Washington (L, 5-8, So., University Place, WA - Curtis) had 99 digs, an average of 6.19 per set to earn all-tournament honors as the Vikings outhit their four CCAA opponents by 40 points (.286 to .246).

Week of Sept. 10-16: Offense - Sarah Johnson, Alaska Anchorage (OH, 6-1, Fr., Anchorage, AK - South) had 34 kills and hit for a .308 percentage to earn Red Lion Offensive Player of the Week honors as the Seawolves ran their win streak to six with 3-2 home wins over Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene. She had double-doubles in both victories, including career-highs of 18 kills and 17 digs in Saturday's win over NNU. She leads UAA with four double-doubles on the season. Defense - Samantha Hutchinson, Western Washington (L, 5-8, So., University Place, WA - Curtis) had 35 digs as the Vikings held their opponents to a .098 hitting percentage in sweeps of Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific. Hutchinson, who was selected the Red Lion Defensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row, also had three aces as WWU had a 28-11 point advantage from the service line, including a 18-2 edge in aces.

Week of Sept. 17-23: Offense - Emmy Dolan, Central Washington (OH, 5-11, Jr., Castle Rock, WA) had 23 kills and hit for a .450 percentage leading the Wildcats to wins over Simon Fraser and Western Washington. Dolan had 16 kills and hit for a .481 percentage as the Wildcats stopped archrival Western Washington in four sets for the second time in a row at Nicholson Pavilion. CWU also beat the Vikings at home in four sets during the final week of the 2011 season. Defense - Becky Blees, Western Oregon (MB, 5-10, Jr., Portland, OR - Madison) contributed to nine of the Wolves' 15 blocks as WOU earned sweeps of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks in limiting their opponents to a .080 attack percentage. Blees also had a .412 hitting percentage (8-1-17) in the two wins.

Week of Sept. 24-30: Offense - Kayla Erickson, Western Washington (MB, 6-0, So., Gig Harbor, WA) had 24 kills in two matches, including the match-winner as the Vikings handed Western Oregon its first conference loss. Erickson, who hit for a .388 percentage, also had five blocks. She had 11 kills and a team-high three blocks against the Wolves. Defense - Marcy Hjellum, Central Washington (OH, 5-11, Sr., Kennewick, WA - Kamiakin) led Central Washington offensively with 39 kills and defensively with 36 digs as the Wildcats ran their win streak to five with road victories at Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings. Hjellum also hit for a team high .270 percentage, 94 points better than CWU's team percentage of .176 in the two matches.

GNAC TEAMS OF THE WEEK: Aug. 27-Sept. 2 - Montana State Billings (Women's Soccer). Sept. 3-9 - Western Washington (Volleyball). Sept. 10-16 - Northwest Nazarene (Men's Soccer). Sept. 17-23 - Central Washington (Volleyball). Sept. 24-30 - Central Washington (Football). Oct. 1-7 - Western Oregon (Women's Soccer).