Nov. 12, 2008

Complete Release

BELLINGHAM, Wash. -

THE WEEK AHEAD

With an at-large berth at the NCAA Division II West Regional on the line, the Western Washington University volleyball team completes its regular season with a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference home contests against Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday (7 p.m.) and Alaska Anchorage on Saturday (2 p.m.) on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

The Vikings, ranked No.18 in the Bison/American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division II Top 25, are 19-3 overall and second in the GNAC standings at 11-3.

The Vikings trail first-place Western Oregon by two matches in the GNAC standings. They could grab a share of the conference title with a pair of wins and two Western Oregon losses. But regardless, the Wolves will get the league's automatic regional berth, receiving the nod via the tie-breaking process.

Earlier this season, Alaska Fairbanks snapped the Vikings' season-opening 13-match winning streak with a 3-2 victory at Fairbanks, Alaska. It was Western's first loss since the 2007 NCAA II national title match versus Concordia-St. Paul and snapped the Vikings' 21-match league victory string.

Western has won 14 of its last 15 matches against the Nanooks and leads the all-time series, 25-6. The Vikings own a 22-7 advantage over Alaska Anchorage in 29 series meetings, winning the last 16 confrontations.

Western split a pair of GNAC road matches last week, losing 3-1 at No.24 Western Oregon and sweeping Saint Martin's. The Vikings, who were ranked as high as No.3 nationally this fall, began the season with a school-best 13-match winning streak that included championships at both the Cal State Monterey Bay and Minnesota Duluth tournaments.

SENIOR SALUTE

Four Western seniors are making their final home appearances this week. They are middle blockers Angie Alvord and Tiana Roma, outside hitter Shanley Besett and right-side hitter Marissa Hill.

Alvord is tied for sixth among WWU career leaders in service aces (155), and ranks eighth in both attack percentage (.299) and blocks (360) and 13th in kills (860). Roma is fifth in attack percentage (.315), seventh in kills (1,049) and ninth in blocks (348).

LOSSES FEW AND FAR BETWEEN

The Vikings are 40-4 (.909) in their last 44 matches. Western has had winning streaks of 13 and 21 matches during that span, losing consecutive matches just once.

WEST REGIONAL

Western was No.6 in this week's West Region rating. Cal State San Bernardino is No.1, UC San Diego No.2, Cal Poly Pomona No.3, Western Oregon No.4, Chico State No.5, Cal State L.A. No.7 and Sonoma State No.8. The eight-team field will be made up of the champions of the GNAC, California Collegiate Athletic Association and Pacific West Conference (BYU Hawaii), who all receive automatic berths, and five at-large entries. The national tournament announcement will be made Sunday. The Vikings won the regional title last year en route to a national runner-up finish.

TWO IN TOP 10

Western sophomore libero Allison Gotz ranks second among NCAA II leaders in digs at 6.14, and junior setter Kari Rice is seventh in assists at 11.68.

Gotz could be the Vikings' third straight national digs champion. Western All-American libero Courtney Schneider led NCAA II in digs the past two seasons with a 7.66 per set average in 2006 and an NCAA record 7.74 average in 2007.

WWU IS GNAC LEADER IN FOUR TEAM STAT CATEGORIES

Western leads the league in four of seven team statistical categories. The Vikings are first in hitting percentage (.237), assists (12.68), kills (13.61) and service aces (1.77). They are fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.175) and digs (17.49) and sixth in blocks (1.81).

ALVORD AND RICE ARE LEAGUE LEADERS

Senior middle blocker Angie Alvord paces the GNAC in points (4.81) and service aces (.51). She also is second in attack percentage (.324) and kills (3.73) and sixth in blocks (0.89).

Rice leads the conference in assists (11.73), and Gotz ranks second in digs (6.14) and is third in aces (0.39). Sophomore outside hitter Megan Amundson is fifth in kills (3.66).

CLOSING IN ON 200

Western head coach Diane Flick is 194-50 (.795) in her ninth season, just six wins shy of 200. Flick earned AVCA Pacific Region and GNAC Coach of the Year honors in 2007. She has accumulated the most wins of any coach in school history and ranks among the top 10 nationally in winning percentage among NCAA II active coaches.

`08 HONORS

Alvord has twice been GNAC co-Player of the Week this season. Once following a 22-kill, seven-block performance versus Seattle Pacific and the other after having 41 kills and a .461 hitting percentage in four matches at the CSU Monterey Bay Otter Invitational.

Amundson has also received GNAC Player of the Week accolades this season. She was honored after having 86 kills and a .277 attack percentage at the Minnesota-Duluth Classic.

Both Alvord and Amundson were all-tourney picks at the Minnesota-Duluth Classic.

ROMA NAMED SECOND-TEAM DISTRICT 8 ACADEMIC ALL-STAR

Middle blocker Tiana Roma was named a second-team College Sports Information Directors of America/ESPN The Magazine College Division District 8 Academic All-Star.

Roma is a biology/secondary education major maintaining a 3.78 grade point average (4.0 scale). She was a first-team District 8 choice last year.

HOME SWEET HOME

The Vikings have been virtually unbeatable on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium since Diane Flick became head coach in 2000. During that stretch, playing on the only SportCourt surface in the GNAC, they are 79-7 (.919) in 86 home matches.

Overall, Western is 194-73 (.727) in 267 contests at Carver Gym and the Vikings are 5-1 at home this season.

THREES COMPANY

The Vikings enter the final weekend of the regular season with just three losses (19-3). Only twice has Western managed three or fewer losses in a season, doing so in consecutive seasons. The Vikings posted a 23-3 mark in 2002, before turning in a 24-2 effort in 2003.