BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The nationally-ranked Western Washington University volleyball team will make its 2017 home debut on Tuesday, Sept. 19 playing the first official match on WECU Court in the renovated Carver Gymnasium.
Tuesday’s match against Simon Fraser University will start at 7 pm in the on-campus Carver Gym that recently underwent a two-year remodel. Admission for the match is free of charge and parking in the C lots on the WWU campus will be open for free parking after 5 pm.
“We are excited to get back to playing in front of the home crowd at Carver Gym and play on WECU Court for the first time,” said 18th-year head coach Diane Flick-Williams, whose team is currently ranked No. 10 in the nation. “We will have 10 road games before we play in Bellingham, but really it’s been two years and 10 games since we feel we’ve had a true home game. To say we are excited would be an understatement and we invite everyone out to join in the celebration.”
In addition to the match having free admission for all fans, there will be free “Bellinghome” t-shirts and a Playstation 4 Pro giveaway to one lucky fan.
The 2017 home opener is one of 10 matches the Vikings will play on WECU Court at Carver Gym this season. Since Flick-Williams took reigns of the program in 2000 and when the signature sport court debuted that season, the Vikings have built a dominating 130-15 (.897) record inside Carver Gym.
“There is something special about being on campus and that is something we really missed the last two seasons, even with our success,” added Flick-Williams. “The new Carver has provided us with amazing practice space and the competition gym with our sport court, and our great fan base, truly makes it a home court advantage.”
WWU is currently 7-2 through the first nine matches of the 2017 season and ranked No. 10 in the latest AVCA Division II top 25. After beating rival Central Washington 3-1 (19-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-19) to open GNAC play, the Vikings will face undefeated Northwest Nazarene (9-0, 1-0 GNAC) Saturday night (7 pm MT/6 pm PT) in Nampa, Idaho.
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