The No. 8 Western women’s volleyball team took its nine-game winning streak into a match with the University of Alaska Fairbanks to continue Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Thursday, Sept. 20, at WECU Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium. The Vikings won in straight sets by scores of 25-19, 25-15 and 25-19.
The win marked the team’s 10th in a row after dropping its first three matches to start the season. All three of those matches were played against nationally ranked opponents in Wheeling Jesuit University, Southwest Minnesota State University and Regis University.
“We played some pretty tough teams in those first three matches and I think that showed us the things we needed to do to get better,” head coach Diane Flick-Williams said. “We just took things from each one of those matches to improve on in the next one. We knew it would come, we just had to put it all together.”
The win also made it 18-straight victories in Carver Gym for the Vikings.
“Carver is a special place,” Flick-Williams said. “It’s our home. We like to defend home court. It’s a very special place to play in, and it’s not a place that other people like to come to.”
Western hasn't lost a set since its match against Seattle Pacific University on Thursday, Sept. 6.
The Vikings won the first set of the match by a score of 25-19, which included an 11-3 run after trailing 11-8 in the set.
Junior middle Kayleigh Harper said the team takes its season one game at a time.
With the victory, the Vikings improved to 10-3 overall on the season with a 5-0 record in GNAC play. It was also the Vikings 23rd consecutive GNAC win.
Since 2012, Western is 104-15 in GNAC play.
“I’m just excited to see where we can go,” Harper said.
The Vikings swept Northwest Nazarene University and Central Washington University the week prior.
During their current win streak, the Vikings have won 26 of their last 28 sets, including Thursday's match.
Western’s next match was played after publication date on Saturday, Sept. 22, against the University of Alaska Anchorage, a matchup between the top two teams in the GNAC.
