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Oct. 30, 2012

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Working on an 11-match home winning streak, the nationally ranked and league-leading Western Washington University volleyball team begins a three-match home stand this week, playing host to University of Alaska Anchorage on Thursday, Nov. 1 (7 p.m.) and to University of Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday, Nov. 3 (7 p.m.) in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action at Sam Carver Gymnasium on the WWU campus.

THE LAST MEETING Western Washington 3 Alaska Anchorage 0 October 6, 2012 Anchorage, AK Vikings gets first Alaska sweep since 2007 with win at UAA Nationally ranked Western Washington University handed University of Alaska Anchorage its first three-set loss at home since 2009 with a 25-19, 25-19, 25-18 victory Saturday in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match at the Wells Fargo Sports Center on the UAA campus. Recap | Box Score

THE LAST MEETING Western Washington 3 Alaska Fairbanks 0 October 4, 2012 Fairbanks, AK Vikings lead GNAC by themselves following sweep at Alaska Fairbanks Outside hitter Marlayna Geary posted her 10th double-double in kills and digs this season as nationally ranked Western Washington University took over sole possession of first place in the league standings, sweeping University of Alaska Fairbanks, 25-18, 25-19, 25-17, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match Thursday night at Patty Center on the UAF campus. Recap | Box Score

The Vikings, who dropped five spots to No.17 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, are 18-3 overall and first in the GNAC standings at 11-2 after splitting a pair of road matches last week. They were swept by Western Oregon, but bounced back with a four-set win over Saint Martin's.

The loss to Western Oregon snapped a seven-match winning streak for WWU, all of them sweeps.

The Vikings' other two losses have also been on the road, 3-2 to No. 25 UC-San Diego on Sept. 7 that snapped a four-match victory string and 3-1 to Central Washington on Sept. 22 that ended a six-match winning streak.

Senior outside hitter Marlayna Geary (Tacoma/Bellarmine) ranks eighth nationally among Division II statistical leaders in both kills (4.32 per set, 311) and points (4.95, 356.5). She leads the GNAC in each category, and is third in service aces (28, 0.39), seventh in attack percentage (.302) and 12th in digs (3.07, 221).

Last week, Geary posted double-doubles in kills and digs in both matches, upping her season total to 15.

Geary ranks second among WWU career leaders in kills with 1,269. 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 both kill percentage (.361) and blocks (1.11, 80), fifth in points (3.88, 279.5) and eighth in kills (3.24, 233).

Against Saint Martin's, Erickson had a match-high 14 kills and a career-high eight blocks.

Geary is one of three Vikings leading the GNAC and ranked among the top 10 national leaders. The other two are senior setter Laurie Yearout (Spokane/Lewis & Clark), fourth in assists (12.12, 873); and sophomore libero Samantha Hutchinson (University Place/Curtis), sixth in digs (6.26, 451).

Yearout ranks fourth among WWU career leaders with 2,860 assists.

Jennica McPherson (R-Fr., Seattle/Kennedy) is fourth among GNAC leaders in aces (0.37, 26) and Emily Boerger (Jr., Marysville/Marysville-Pilchuck) is eighth in kill percentage (.283).

WWU, coached by Diane Flick (13th year, 266-72), ranks among the top 10 nationally and leads the GNAC in two team statistical categories, being seventh in hitting percentage (.272) and ninth in assists (13.42). The Vikings also top the league in kills (14.03) and digs (17.19).

UAA is tied for second in the GNAC standings with Western Oregon at 9-3 and is 14-6 overall.

UAF is 4-14 overall, 2-10 in conference play and is winless in eight away matches this year.

Earlier this season, WWU swept its Alaska road trip with three-set wins over both UAA and UAF. That snapped a four-year string of Viking splits on that junket. 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.

The Vikings are 24-1 at home since late in 2009. WWU has a winning percentage of .902 (111-12) at Carver Gym after going to a SportCourt surface in 2000 and is 226-78 (74.3 percent) overall.

NOTES: The Vikings were the preseason favorite in the GNAC Coaches' Poll ... Geary has twice been named GNAC Offensive Player of the Week this season. Hutchinson is a two-time Defensive POW and Erickson has earned Offensive and Defensive POW accolades ... Geary has posted 15 double-doubles this season in digs and kills ... 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 ... WWU's highest national rating this season has been No.12.

Great Northwest Athletic Conference

2012 Volleyball Week #9 (Oct. 29, 2012)

	                Conf.		All
	                W	L	W	L	H	A	N
Western Washington     11	2	18	3	6-0	6-2	6-1
Alaska Anchorage        9	3	14	6	9-2	4-2	1-2
Western Oregon          9	3	16	5	10-2	6-3	0-0
Central Washington      9	4	15	7	5-2	5-4	5-1
Seattle Pacific         7	5	10	11	3-2	5-6	2-3
MSU Billings            6	6	9	11	3-2	3-7	3-2
Northwest Nazarene      5	8	12	12	5-3	4-6	3-3
Saint Martin's          3       9       6       12      2-4	4-8	0-0
Alaska Fairbanks        2	10	4	14	4-6	0-8	0-0
Simon Fraser            1	12	4	16	2-7	1-7	1-2

LAST WEEK: Tuesday - Saint Martin's 3 at Pacific Lutheran 0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-7). Thursday - MSU Billings 3 at Central Washington 2 (25-27, 25-17, 24-26, 25-23, 15-10); Seattle Pacific 2 at Northwest Nazarene 3 (25-21, 19-25, 18-25, 25-12, 15-10); Simon Fraser 0 at Saint Martin's 3 (25-22, 25-18, 25-20); Western Washington 0 at Western Oregon 3 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21). Saturday - Alaska Anchorage 3 at Alaska Fairbanks 2 (25-20, 23-25, 29-27, 18-25, 15-13); Seattle Pacific 3 at Central Washington 2 (32-30, 25-15, 22-25, 18-25, 15-9); MSU Billings 1 at Northwest Nazarene 3 (25-18, 25-22, 22-25, 25-22); Western Washington 3 at Saint Martin's 1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-10, 25-18); Simon Fraser 0 at Western Oregon 3 (25-22, 25-15, 25-13).

THIS WEEK: Tuesday - Central Washington at Walla Walla. Thursday - Alaska Anchorage at Western Washington; Alaska Fairbanks at Simon Fraser; Western Oregon at MSU Billings; Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific. Friday - Northwest Nazarene at Walla Walla, 2 p.m. Saturday - Alaska Anchorage at Simon Fraser; Alaska Fairbanks at Western Washington; Northwest Nazarene at Central Washington; Saint Martin's at MSU Billings; Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific, 2 p.m.

POLLS: AVCA (Oct. 29) - 17. Western Washington; 28. Central Washington.

NCAA NATIONAL STATISTICS (Through Oct. 28): Team (Top 30): Assists - 9. Western Washington 13.42. Blocks - 13. Western Oregon 2.44. Hitting PCT. - 7. Western Washington .272; 26. Western Oregon .246. Kills - 15. Western Washington 14.03. Individuals (Top 30): Assists - 4. Laurie Yearout, WWU, 12.13; 19. Kimya Jafroudi, UAA, 10.91; 26. Shelby Swanson, SPU, 10.57. Blocks - 12. Becky Blees, WOU, 1.30. Digs - 6. Samantha Hutchinson, WWU, 6.26; 8. Erin Compton, MSUB, 5.92. Hitting PCT. - 8. Krissi Kemper, WOU, .404; 23. Kayla Erickson, WWU, .361; 24. Erin Smith, CWU, .361. Kills - 8. Marlayna Geary, WWU, 4.32; 22. Cailin Fellows, SPU, 3.95. Points - 8. Marlayna Geary, WWU, 4.95; 29. Danielle Reese, WOU, 4.36.

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 - Danielle Reese, Western Oregon (OH, 5-9, Sr., Gig Harbor, WA) had 30 kills and 30 digs and hit for a .419 percentage as the Wolves swept nationally 12th-ranked Western Washington and Simon Fraser to extend their win streak to five matches. Reese, the Red Lion Offensive Player of the Week, had 17 kills as the Wolves outhit the Vikings .261 to .150, then added 13 more against the Clan. In the process, Reese became the 30th player in GNAC history to record 1,000 kills, increasing her career total 1,019.

Defense - Erin Compton, Montana State Billings (L, 5-10, Jr., Billings, MT) and Becky Flores, Northwest Nazarene (MB, 5-9, Sr., Kennewick, WA - Riverview) have been selected the Red Lion Defensive Players of the Week ... Compton had 60 digs including 36 in MSUB's 3-2 upset of Central Washington. Her dig total against the Wildcats is the second highest in the GNAC this fall. She currently ranks second in the conference and eighth nationally averaging 5.92 per set ... Flores led the Crusaders both offensively and defensively in home wins against Seattle Pacific and MSU Billings. Defensively she had 11 blocks as the Crusaders dominated at the net outblocking their two opponents by a 3-1 margin (27-9) and holding them to a combined .173 hitting percentage. Offensively, she accounted for nearly a quarter of NNU's kills (29 of 119) converting on 42.9 percent of her opportunities. She also had a pair of service aces and five digs.

Honorable Mention - Katlyn Mataya, Alaska Fairbanks; Allison Oddy, Alaska Fairbanks; Siobhan Johansen, Alaska Anchorage; Marcy Hjellum, Central Washington; Michelle Terpstra, Northwest Nazarene; Cailin Fellows, Seattle Pacific; Teilissa Tua, Saint Martin's.

MOVING UP THE CAREER CHARTS: Western Washington's Marlayna Geary had 32 kills to move into seventh place on the GNAC all-time career chart with 1,269 ... Seattle Pacific's Nikki Lowell, who ranks fifth this season in the GNAC in hitting percentage with a .312 average, has the second best career percentage in GNAC history (.333) ... Seattle Pacific's Shelby Swanson had 116 assists increasing her career total of 3,511. She ranks eighth all-time and needs 50 more to move into sixth place ... Two GNAC setters are among the Top 10 in career assists per set. UAA's Kimya Jafroudi is seventh with a 10.53 average, while Laurie Yearout of Western Washington is 10th with a 10.21 average. This year Yearout leads the GNAC in assists (12.12) and Jafroudi ranks second (10.91) ... Becky Blees of Western Oregon is the only player in GNAC history that has a career average for assisted blocks of more the 1.00. Her current average is 1.05. She leads the GNAC this season in total blocks averaging 1.30.

FELLOWS HAMMERS CAREER, GNAC HIGH 28 KILLS: Cailin Fellows hammered a career-high 28 kills and hit .299 in Seattle Pacific's 3-2 win at Central Washington Saturday. Fellows topped her previous career high of 21 kills, which she had twice, most recently on Sept. 27 against CWU in Seattle. Fellows also had 18 kills and 14 digs on Thursday in a five-game loss at Northwest Nazarene for her third double-double of the season and the fifth of her career. For the week, she totaled 46 kills, 19 digs, and hit .265. Her 28 kills were also a GNAC season-best.

DIGGING IT: Alaska Anchorage libero Siobhan Johansen had 32 digs - the most in nearly a year for the Seawolves - as they outlasted Alaska Fairbanks for a five-set road win Saturday at Fairbanks. "Siobhan made some great digs and was quick enough to run down a couple of deep corner dumps at critical points," UAA coach Chris Green said . . .The Nanooks' Allison Oddy tallied a team-high 29 digs, many of which came after very powerful attempts by UAA. She led the backcourt helping hold Anchorage to a .173 hitting percentage and made no reception errors. Alaska Fairbanks setter Katlyn Mataya had 39 assists and career-highs of seven kills (7-2-20, .250) and 15 digs in the match.

AROUND THE GNAC: Michelle Terpstra of Northwest Nazarene had 92 assists, 14 kills and 26 digs in the Crusaders' wins over Seattle Pacific and MSU Billings. The Crusaders also got 24 kills from Carly Dranginis ... Taylor Adams had 37 kills and Monica Grimsrud had 34 as Montana State Billings split two matches. Adams had 23 as MSUB rallied to beat Central Washington 3-2 Thursday ... Marcy Hjellum had 46 kills, 24 digs and five blocks and Erin Smith had 22 kills and 11 blocks in Central Washington's two 3-2 home losses ... Kristyn Ross and Carrie Starbuck each had 16 kills and Teilissa Tua had 14 kills and hit for a .370 percentage as Saint Martin's split two contests ... Jessica Young led Simon Fraser with 19 kills in its two losses.

GNAC 46-35 IN NON-CONFERENCE: GNAC teams posted a winning record during the non-conference portion of its schedule posting a 46-35 record. The GNAC had a winning record (13-12) against the CCAA, but ended up just 9-15 against the Pac West. Just three matches remain on the non-conference slate. Central Washington plays at Walla Walla Tuesday and Northwest Nazarene plays at Walla Walla on Thursday. Simon Fraser hosts Douglas Nov. 13 in a makeup of a contest postponed earlier this season.

VIKINGS FINISH 7-1 IN NON-CONFERENCE: 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 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.

Week of Oct. 1-7: 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.

Week of Oct. 8-14: Offense - Catie Fry, Central Washington (S, 6-0, Fr., Tacoma, WA - Mt. Si) averaged 11.6 assists leading the Wildcats to a pair of 3-0 win against Western Oregon and Saint Martin's. Fry, the Red Lion Offensive Player of the Week award winner, also had a team-high five service aces, 13 digs and four blocks as the Wildcats ran their win streak to nine matches finishing the first half of the conference season in a tie for first-place with Western Washington. Defense - Kimya Jafroudi, Alaska Anchorage (S, 5-7, Sr., Huntington Beach, CA) led the Seawolves both offensively and defensively to a pair of road wins at Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings. Jafroudi, the Red Lion Defensive Player of the Week award winner, had 22 digs and four blocks on defense. Offensively, she earned 82 assists and also had three service aces.

Week of Oct. 15-21: Offense - Sam Harthun, Alaska Fairbanks (OH, 6-0, Fr., Oregon City, OR) and Samantha Ward, Western Oregon (OH, 6-1, Sr., Salem, OR - West Salem)... Harthun had 36 kills, three service aces and 18 digs and hit for a .413 percentage (36-5-75) as the Nanooks split two matches. In a 3-0 sweep of Saint Martin's she finished with a match-best 18 kills hitting a career-high .654 (18-1-26). Her hitting percentage was only .079 off the GNAC record (min. 18 kills). She also accrued two service aces to help the Nanooks to their first straight-set win since Oct. 9, 2010 when it swept Central Washington ... Ward shared the Red Lion Offensive Player of the Week award with Harthun producing a team-high 34 kills and hitting for a .413 percentage in wins at UAF and Alaska Anchorage. She had 21 kills and 10 digs and hit .487 against the Nanooks, then led all players with 13 kills in the Wolves' sweep at Alaska Anchorage. Defense - Kayla Erickson, Western Washington (MB, 6-0, So., Gig Harbor, WA - Peninsula) had 10 blocks as the Vikings swept Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene extending their win streak to seven, all 3-0 sweeps. Erickson also had 15 kills and four digs in her Red Lion Defensive Player of the Week performance. The Vikings held their two opponents to a combined hitting percentage of .078.

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). Oct. 8-14 - Simon Fraser (Men's Soccer). Oct. 15-21 - Alaska Anchorage (Men's & Women's Cross Country).