BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University senior outside hitter Abby Phelps became the Vikings all-time leader in kills helping lead the No. 7 nationally-ranked Vikings to a three-game sweep over Montana State Billings on Saturday night on WECU Court in Carver Gym. Game scores were 25-10, 25-21, 25-14 in favor of the Vikings in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference match.
WWU extended its winning streak to 13 consecutive matches, improving to 13-3 overall and remaining atop the GNAC standings with a perfect 8-0 record. MSUB drops to 7-10 overall with its ninth loss in the last 10 matches and is 1-7 in league play.
Phelps (Manson, WA/Chelan) recorded 10 kills and 13 digs for her 14th double-double in 16 matches this season. With her third kill early in the first set, Phelps passed Meghan Evoy (2001-04) with her 1,380th career kills, breaking the 14-year-old record for the most kills in the 47-year history of the program.
“I think the numbers speak for themselves, both the total and the number of years the previous record was held,” said 19th-year head coach Diane Flick-Williams, who has coached both Phelps and Evoy. “I am even more proud of Abby the teammate and the great person that she is. Her character defines her and it is special to see her get this record.”
“It was an emotional and humbling moment for me, when they stopped the match and announced the record,” said Phelps after the match. “All I could think about was all the teammates that have helped me and how much they play into this record. The sets, the digs, the support from the crowd. It was a great feeling and one I will never forget.”
With the much-anticipated record-breaking moment out of the way early in the first set, the Vikings put together one of their more balanced performances of the season. Five players recorded at least 7 kills, with junior middle Kayleigh Harper (Oak Harbor, WA) leading the way with 11 kills on a .529 hitting percentage.
Senior middle Michaela Hall (Centralia, WA) led the Vikings with 14.0 points, contributing 10 kills (.607) and a match-high 6 blocks.
Sophomore outside hitter Alison Davenport (Auburn, WA/Auburn Mountainview) and redshirt freshman outside hitter Gabby Gunterman (Lake Stevens, WA) each had 7 kills.
“It was a very balanced effort tonight with every player contributing and feeding off each other,” added Flick-Williams. “Our first touches were really key with the balance, and Brette (Boesel) did a great job distributing the ball and putting players in solid positions to be successful.”
The Vikings held a 57-46 edge in digs in the three-set match, led by 13 digs from Phelps, 11 from senior libero Aubrey Stephens (Colville, WA) and 10 from Davenport. Stephens also etched her name in the record books passing the 1,000-dig mark for her career to become one of 14 players in program history to reach that mark.
WWU recorded 7 service aces, the second-most in a match this season, led by 3 aces from junior defensive specialist Mae Thungc (Kent, WA/Kentridge) and a pair from senior Taylor Lyall (Bellingham, WA/Sehome).
Senior setter Brette Boesel (Brewster, WA) led all players with 43 assists, adding 8 digs and one service ace. She is now one ace short of 100 for her career.
The Yellowjackets were led by 5 kills apiece by sophomore right side Bayli Monck, freshman outside hitter Riley Moore and senior middle Miranda McConnell. Sophomore libero Izela Alvarez led all players with 16 digs.
The Vikings (13-3, 8-0 GNAC) return to the road next week with the annual Oregon road trip, facing Concordia in Portland on Thursday (7 pm) and Western Oregon on Saturday in Monmouth (7 pm). Both matches will be streamed live and feature live stats at GNAC.tv.
MATCH NOTES…WWU extended winning streaks of 13 matches (overall), 20 straight in Carver Gym and 26 consecutive GNAC matches…during the 13-match winning streak, the Vikings have won 39 of 48 sets…WWU improved to 25-1 all-time vs. MSUB, with a current 8-match winning streak…Abby Phelps moved into 7th place in GNAC history with 1,387 career kills (6th place is 1,392)…Phelps is 15.5 points short of the WWU record of 1599.5 total points set by Meghan Evoy from 2001-04…Aubrey Stephens moved up to 14th in WWU history with 1,003 career digs…Kayleigh Harper (373) and Michaela Hall (372) are 8th and 9th in program history in total blocks.
