MONMOUTH, Ore. – Coming off of a road trip to Montana in which the Western Oregon University volleyball team went five sets and then battled at Seattle Pacific, the Wolves will be back in New PE Gym this week hosting #21 Western Washington on Thursday night and then Simon Fraser on Saturday night with both matches starting at 7 p.m.
The first stop of last week's road trip had WOU (2-10, 0-5 GNAC) in their fifth, five-set match of the season. The Yellowjackets were just able to come back for the 3-2 victory. Then to close the trip, WOU went to Washington to face Seattle Pacific and nearly pushed the match to a fourth set when the Falcons took the 3-0 win.
WOU has 511 kills, 469 assists, 77 service aces, 664 digs and 91 total blocks this season. Opponents have 597 kills, 537 assists, 67 service aces, 732 digs and 83 blocks.
Isabel Hurliman recorded her fifth double-double of the season against Montana State Billings when she had 16 kills and 17 digs. Overall on the season, the outside hitter has a team-best 165.5 points and 141 kills, to go along with 130 digs and 21 blocks. She is also second on the team with 14 service aces. Bailee Hartsook is second on the team in points with 105, posting 97 kills, 61 digs and 12 blocks. Lauren Smith is third on the team in kills with 66, while Madison Hornback adds 59. Both Aubrey Stanton and Laney O'Neil setup the offense with Stanton dishing out 249 assists to 136 for O'Neil. Stanton also leads the team in service aces with 17. On defense, Sophie Matlock has a team-high 190 digs and Makenzie York leads the team in blocks with 46. Bella MacLellan is second in blocks with 26.
WOU and Western Washington played each other three times during the shortened 2021 spring season, all of which were played in Bellingham. The Vikings won the first two matches by 3-0 scores before the Wolves pushed the third match to a fourth set before falling 3-1. WWU has won the past 17 meetings in the series, with the last WOU victory coming in 2012 in Monmouth (3-0).
WWU enters the week 7-4 overall and 3-1 in GNAC play. They were only able to play one match this week, with their first match against Alaska Anchorage postponed. The Vikings played Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday in Bellingham and picked up the 3-2 victory. WWU has gone 4-1 in five-set matches this season and are 3-4 away from home this season (2-1 in true road contests).
As a team, the Vikings have 589 kills, 549 assists, 52 service aces, 724 digs and 118.5 blocks. Opponents have 601 kills, 576 assists, 76 service aces, 779 digs and 89 blocks. Calley Heilborn leads the way with 173.5 points collecting 148 kills and 31 blocks, along with a team-best 192 digs. Gabby Gunterman is second on the team with 162 points, tallying 133 kills, 14 service aces, 27 blocks and is second on the team in digs with 170. Olivia Fairchild is third in points with 146.5, posting 108 kills and a team-high 64 blocks. Malia Aleaga sets up the offense with 436 assists. On defense, Kasey Woodruff is third on the team behind Heilborn and Gunterman in digs with 165, while Chloe Roetcisoender is second on the team in blocks with 47.
WOU closes the week against Simon Fraser. SFU is receiving votes in the AVCA Poll this week and were ranked in the top-25 earlier in the season after starting out 6-1. Since then, Simon Fraser has gone 2-3 with all of the matches being in conference. They have wins over Northwest Nazarene and Alaska Fairbanks, but have fallen to Western Washington, Central Washington and last time out against Alaska Anchorage.
SFU is 8-4 overall and 2-3 in GNAC play, holding a 7-2 mark away from home (2-1 in true road contests). WOU and SFU didn't play each other during the shortened 2021 spring season, as during the 2019 year, Simon Fraser won both meetings. SFU has won the past 12 meetings with the last win for WOU coming in 2013 in Burnaby by a 3-2 score.
On the season, Simon Fraser has 603 kills, 559 assists, 59 service aces, 690 digs and 80 blocks. Opponents have 532 kills, 491 assists, 61 service aces, 655 digs and 88 blocks. Brooke Dexter leads SFU in points with 214.5, tallying 192 kills, 24 blocks and 117 digs. Camryn Vosloh has 124 points with 107 kills and 82 digs. Hanna Kolof (107) and Kalyn Hartmann (100) give Simon Fraser four with over 100 points. Julia Tays sets up the offense with 405 assists. On defense, Bianca Te has a team-best 162 digs and Hartmann leads in blocks with 34.
Fans are allowed to attend and remember to wear a mask. Live video and stats will also be available for both matches. Live video can be found here and live stats can be found here.
