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Nov. 5, 2012

AVCA Top 25 Poll

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Looking to sweep all nine of its regular-season home matches for the second time in three years, the nationally ranked and league-leading Western Washington University volleyball team, entertains Simon Fraser University on Saturday, Nov. 10 (7 p.m.), in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match at Sam Carver Gymnasium on the WWU campus.

The Vikings, ranked No.17 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, are 20-3 overall and first in the GNAC standings at 13-2. They are 8-0 at home this season, working on a 13-match home winning streak overall and are 26-1 at Carver Gym since late in the 2009 season.

Three WWU seniors, who are playing in their final regular-season home match Saturday, will be recognized prior to the contest. They are outside hitter Marlayna Geary (Tacoma/Bellarmine), middle blocker Bailey Jones (Mukilteo/Kamiak) and setter Laurie Yearout (Spokane/Lewis & Clark)

Geary ranks 10th nationally among Division II statistical leaders in kills (4.23 per set, 330) and 12th in points (4.87, 379.5). She leads the GNAC in each category, and is third in service aces (30, 0.38), seventh in attack percentage (.298) and 13th in digs (3.00, 234).

Geary also has posted a GNAC-best 15 double-doubles in kills and digs. She ranks second among WWU career leaders in kills with 1,288. The school record of 1,379 is held by Meghan Evoy (2001-04).

Geary is one of three Vikings leading the GNAC and ranked among the top 10 national leaders. The other two are Yearout, fifth in assists (12.05, 940); and sophomore libero Samantha Hutchinson (University Place/Curtis), sixth in digs (6.29, 491). Yearout, who received Red Lion/GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honors, ranks fourth among WWU career leaders with 2,927 assists.

Sophomore middle blocker Kayla Erickson (Gig Harbor/Peninsula) is second among GNAC leaders in blocks (1.18, 92.0), third in kill percentage (.355), seventh in points (3.84, 299.5) and eighth in kills (3.15, 246).

Redshirt freshman Jennica McPherson (Seattle/Kennedy) is third among GNAC leaders in aces (0.38, 29) and junior middle blocker Emily Boerger (Marysville/Marysville-Pilchuck) is eighth in kill percentage (.297).

WWU ranks among the top 10 nationally and leads the GNAC in hitting percentage (.272). The Vikings also top the league in kills (13.91), assists (13.31, 13th nationally) and digs (17.10).

Simon Fraser is 4-18 overall and last in the GNAC standings at 1-14. The Clan, which was swept by WWU at Burnaby, B.C., on Oct. 13, has lost its last five matches.

THE LAST MEETING

Western Washington	3
Simon Fraser	0

October 13, 2012
Burnaby, B.C.

WWU wins in three sets at Simon Fraser, holds Clan to .031 hitting percentage Holding the opposition to a .031 hitting percentage, Western Washington University swept Simon Fraser University, 25-15, 25-17, 25-13, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match Saturday night at West Gymnasium on the SFU campus.

Recap | Box Score

WWU has a winning percentage of .903 (113-12) at Carver Gym since going to a SportCourt surface in 2000 and is 228-78 (74.4 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, and Yearout was an Offensive POW one time ... 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 ... The Vikings three losses have all been on the road, 3-2 to No. 25 UC-San Diego on Sept. 7 that snapped a four-match victory string; 3-1 to Central Washington on Sept. 22 that ended a six-match winning streak, and 3-0 to Western Oregon that snapped a seven-match victory string.

Great Northwest Athletic Conference

2012 Volleyball Week #10 (Nov. 6, 2012)

	                Conf.		All
	                W	L	W	L	H	A	N
Western Washington      13	2	20	3	8-0	6-2	6-1
Western Oregon          11	3	18	5	10-2	8-3	0-0
Central Washington      10	4	17	7	6-2	6-4	5-1
Alaska Anchorage        10	4	15	7	9-2	5-3	1-2
Seattle Pacific         8	6	11	12	4-3	5-6	2-3
MSU Billings            7	7	10	12	4-3	3-7	3-2
Northwest Nazarene      5	9	12	13	5-3	4-7	3-3
Saint Martin's          3	11	6	14	2-4	4-10	0-0
Alaska Fairbanks        3	11	5	15	4-6	1-9	0-0
Simon Fraser            1	14	4	18	2-9	1-7	1-2

LAST WEEK: Tuesday - Central Washington 3 at Walla Walla 0 (25-10, 25-5, 25-15). Thursday - Alaska Anchorage 0 at Western Washington 3 (25-16, 25-22, 25-23); Alaska Fairbanks 3 at Simon Fraser 2 (31-29, 23-25, 30-28, 23-25, 15-13); Western Oregon 3 at MSU Billings 0 (25-20, 25-23, 30-28); Saint Martin's 0 at Seattle Pacific 3 (25-13, 25-20, 25-14). Friday - Northwest Nazarene at Walla Walla, cancelled. Saturday - Alaska Anchorage 3 at Simon Fraser 0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-21); Alaska Fairbanks 0 at Western Washington 3 (25-11, 25-17, 25-11); Northwest Nazarene 0 at Central Washington 3 (25-18, 25-20, 25-18); Saint Martin's 1 at MSU Billings 3 (25-14, 25-14, 16-25, 25-17); Western Oregon 3 at Seattle Pacific (25-17, 25-18, 25-20).

THIS WEEK: Thursday - MSU Billings at Alaska Anchorage; Seattle Pacific at Alaska Fairbanks; Central Washington at Saint Martin's; Northwest Nazarene at Western Oregon. Saturday - Seattle Pacific at Alaska Anchorage, 8 p.m.; MSU Billings at Alaska Fairbanks, 3 p.m.; Central Washington at Western Oregon; Northwest Nazarene at Saint Martin's, 3 p.m.; Simon Fraser at Western Washington.

NEXT WEEK: Tuesday - Douglas at Simon Fraser. Thursday - Alaska Anchorage at Northwest Nazarene; Alaska Fairbanks at Central Washington; Simon Fraser at MSU Billings; Saint Martin's at Western Oregon; Western Washington at Seattle Pacific. Saturday - Alaska Anchorage at Central Washington; Alaska Fairbanks at Northwest Nazarene; Western Washington at MSU Billings; Western Oregon at Saint Martin's; Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific.

THE POST-SEASON: NCAA West Regional (Nov. 29-Dec. 1). NCAA Nationals (Dec. 6-8).

POLLS: AVCA (Nov. 5) - 17. Western Washington; 31. Central Washington. NCAA West Regional (Oct. 30) - 1. BYU-Hawaii (18-2); 2. Western Washington (183); 3. Grand Canyon (20-5); 4. CSU San Bernardino (16-7); 5. UC San Diego (17-6); 6. San Francisco State (16-6); 7. Central Washington (15-7); 8. Western Oregon (16-5); 9. Sonoma State (17-6); 10. Chico State (14-8).

NCAA NATIONAL STATISTICS (Through Nov. 4): Team (Top 30): Assists - 13. Western Washington 13.31. Blocks - 15. Western Oregon 2.44. Hitting PCT. - 8. Western Washington .272; 23. Western Oregon .247. Kills - 17. Western Washington 13.91. Individuals (Top 30): Assists - 5. Laurie Yearout, WWU, 12.05; 18. Kimya Jafroudi, UAA, 10.98; 26. Shelby Swanson, SPU, 10.69. Blocks - 15. Becky Blees, WOU, 1.28; 30. Kayla Erickson, WWU, 1.18. Digs - 6. Samantha Hutchinson, WWU, 6.29; 8. Erin Compton, MSUB, 5.99; 29. Kaely Kight, CWU, 5.10. Hitting PCT. - 3. Krissi Kemper, WOU, .413; 26. Erin Smith, CWU, .357; 27. Kayla Erickson, WWU, .355. Kills - 12. Marlayna Geary, WWU, 4.23; 17. Cailin Fellows, SPU, 4.01. Points - 10. Marlayna Geary, WWU, 4.87.

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 - Laurie Yearout, Western Washington (S, 5-9, Sr., Spokane, WA - Lewis & Clark) had 67 assists (11.17 per set) leading the Vikings to sweeps of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks. The Vikings hit for a .277 percentage in the two contests remaining unbeaten at home (8-0) and improving to 20-3 on the season. Yearout, who earned Red Lion Offensive Player of the Week honors, also converted on five of nine kill attempts and had four blocks and 11 digs. Defense - Becky Blees, Western Oregon (MB, 5-10, Jr., Portland, OR - Madison) had team-highs of six blocks and four service aces in road sweeps of Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific to claim her second Red Lion Defensive Player of the Week award this fall. Honorable Mention - Sam Harthun, Alaska Fairbanks; Monica Grimsrud, MSU Billings; Erin Compton, MSU Billings; Samantha Ward, Western Oregon.

VIKINGS GO FOR HOME SWEEP: Western Washington will try to complete its home schedule with a perfect 9-0 record when it hosts Simon Fraser Saturday at Sam Carver Gymnasium. With a No. 2 West Regional ranking the Vikings are in position to possibly host a portion of the West Regional tournament later this month. BYU-Hawaii is currently the No. 1 ranked team in the region and if they finish No. 1, the NCAA will likely divide the West Regional playoffs into a pair of four-team sub-regionals. WWU earned a pair of 3-0 home wins last week as Marlayna Geary had 19 kills and three players - Kayla Erickson, Emily Boerger and Kelsey Moore - each had 13 kills. Erickson also had 12 blocks. Geary currently ranks 10th nationally in points (4.87) and 12th in kills (4.23). She currently also ranks seventh in GNAC history in career kills with 1,288.

TWO ROAD SWEEPS FOR WOLVES: Western Oregon, which as the No. 8 ranked team in the region is on the "bubble" for the playoffs, earned two road sweeps as Samantha Ward led the way with 30 kills. Ward also had 17 digs. The Wolves, winners of seven in a row, also got 16 kills and a .519 hitting percentage from Krissi Kemper (16-2-27). WOU completes its season playing three of its final four matches at home including a contest Saturday against regionally seventh-ranked Central Washington.

COMPTON SETS DIGS SCHOOL MARK: MSU Billings libero Erin Compton had 47 digs increasing her season total to a school-record 491. She ranks eighth nationally averaging 5.99 per set. Compton helped the Yellowjackets hold their two opponents to a .138 attack percentage as they earned a split last weekend, defeating Saint Martin's 3-1 after losing to Western Oregon 3-0. Monica Grimsrud led MSUB offensively with 35 kills, including a match-high 20 against WOU and a match-high 15 against SMU.

AROUND THE GNAC: Sam Harthun had 38 kills and 21 digs accounting for 40 ½ points as Alaska Fairbanks split two road matches, defeating Simon Fraser 3-2 before losing 3-0 at Western Washington. The Nanooks also got 21 kills from Megan Morrison in the two matches ... Julia Mackey had 19 kills as Alaska Anchorage split two matches ... Cailin Fellows had 29 kills and 18 digs in Seattle Pacific's two matches. The Falcons also got 22 digs from Nikki Lowell, who hit for a .462 percentage ... Katy Ferguson led Saint Martin's with 19 kills in a pair of losses ...Katie Forsyth had 24 kills for Simon Fraser.

GNAC 47-35 IN NON-CONFERENCE: GNAC teams posted a winning record during the non-conference portion of its schedule posting a 47-35 record. The GNAC had a winning record (13-12) against the CCAA, but ended up just 9-15 against the Pac West. Just one match remains on the regular-season non-conference slate. 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.

Week of Oct. 22-28: 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 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) ... 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.

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). Oct. 22-28 - Western Washington (Women's Soccer).