Western Washington University volleyball finished the 2024 WWU Invitational with two straight losses. The Vikings lost Friday, Sept. 6 to No. 7 MSU Denver 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-20), and Saturday Sept. 7 to San Francisco State 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-21).
In the MSU Denver match, the Vikings totaled 23 kills, seven aces and five blocks. Devyn Oestrich had nine kills, Caroline Hansen hit three aces and Emily Vossenkuhl had two blocks.
In the San Francisco State match, the Vikings tallied 34 kills, five blocks and three aces. Vossenkuhl led with 1.5 blocks and one ace. Delaney Speer had 12 kills, the only Viking in double digits.
Western began the WWU Invitational Thursday, Sept. 5 with a 3-0 sweep (28-26, 25-18, 25-22) against the Sonoma State Seawolves.
“We have worked so hard in the offseason and preseason and it showed tonight,” pinner Janelle Grant said. “We got more to show and we will keep elevating.”
Grant led the Vikings offense with nine kills and two blocks while Delaney Speer led the defense with 12 digs and six kills.
“My team gives me so much encouragement that I usually don’t think about placing the ball and just go at it,” Grant said.
Western’s defense was tested in the first set. The Vikings took an early 2-0 lead with a bad set from the Seawolves and Grant blocking an attack. She also scored the first kill for the Vikings to make the score 7-4. The Vikings only had nine kills in the first set; Grant led with four and two blocks.
Coach Diane Flick-Williams said she wished she added some scrimmages to work on a few aspects of the Vikings offense. However, she was happy because of “how they battled through it, kept trying and moved the ball around well.”
The Vikings and Seawolves were within three points of each other until Sonoma State tied it at 24-24. Although the Vikings held the Seawolves to a negative hitting percentage throughout the first set, Western struggled to extend its lead.
“Although they may have hit negative, they hit some really good shots,” Flick-Williams said. “Our defense put some really good pressure on them and we did a solid job. Sonoma is a scrappy team, relentless and chaotic.”
Sonoma State had the first advantage with a 25-24 lead. However, Grant picked up her second block, which led to a bad set and tied score. Delaney Speer and Emily Vossenkuhl picked up a couple of kills and Caroline Hansen won the set with an ace.
Sonoma State kept it close in the second set. The Seawolves and Vikings were tied seven separate times before reaching 14-14. During that span, the Vikings earned eight of their 15 kills in the set, including four from Devyn Oestrich.
The Vikings took over the latter half of the set with three straight points from Speer, including back-to-back aces, and another kill from Grant. The Vikings won the second set on one of the Seawolves five attacking errors.
In the final set, Western tallied 11 kills and two aces. Dani Johnson earned a couple of early kills to give the Vikings an early lead. However, Sonoma State continued to battle until the final point.
The two teams were tied at 22-22 until Anuhea Lopez earned a kill and a block from Vossenkuhl and Speer separately.
“We are 100 percent better than where we were last year,” Flick-Williams said.
The Vikings will return to the court at 7 p.m. Sept. 6 against No. 7 MSU Denver, and at 7 p.m. Sept. 8 against San Francisco State.
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
