Western Washington University outside hitter Marlayna Geary has been named American Volleyball Coaches Association/NCAA Division II West Region Freshman of the Year.
Two outside hitters who have played volleyball together since the seventh grade have signed national letters of intent to continue their careers together at Western Washington University. They are Emily Cotter and Samantha Hutchinson from Curtis High School in Tacoma.
Both Cotter and Hutchinson were first-team Tacoma News Tribune all-Area picks as seniors, Cotter for the second straight year. They also were first-team all-South Puget Sound League South Division choices, Hutchinson for the second consecutive season.
Western Washington University senior midfielder Kelly Irving and sophomore defender Alicia Patten were unanimous first-team choices on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer all-star team announced Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Irving tied for the GNAC lead in assists with eight and tied a school career record that had stood for 25 years with a four-year total of 26 assists.
Irving and Patten helped the Vikings rank second in both goals against average at 1.05 per game and shutouts with nine.
Western Washington University had 30 attack errors, one short of its season high, and hit just .099 as it fell to Central Washington University, 11-25, 25-21, 25-15, 21-25, 15-11, on Saturday in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match in Ellensburg.
Outside hitter Marlayna Geary posted her 11th double-double of the season with a match-high 20 kills and 13 digs as Western Washington University defeated Northwest Nazarene University 25-13, 22-25, 25-15, 25-22 on Thursday, Nov. 5, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match.
Western Washington University took only one of seven sets in losing both matches to second-place Seattle Pacific this season, but that dramatic set provided fans with plenty of reason to dream.
Coming off a loss to conference-leading Alaska-Anchorage, the young Vikings gave SPU a far better battle in their GNAC rematch before the Falcons prevailed 25-17, 18-25, 25-17, 26-24 on Saturday, Oct. 31, at Carver Gym.
With its last opportunity to post a win over one of the two Great Northwest Athletic Conference front runners, the Western Washington University volleyball team entertains Seattle Pacific in a league counter Saturday (7 p.m.) on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
The Vikings, 15-8 overall and third in the conference standings at 8-4, were swept by the Falcons on Sept. 30 at Seattle. Seattle Pacific, which is at Montana State Billings for a GNAC contest Thursday, is second in the GNAC at 8-2.
The cake went for $1,400.
The man who bought it never imagined the bidding would go that high.
I was shocked when it got to $1,200, Peter Rynders said.
When it did, he pondered, How far am I going to go with this?
Whatever it takes.
I wasn't just buying a cake, he said, I was showing support for the women's volleyball team.
And Peter Rynders is a big booster of the women's volleyball team at Western Washington University.
Outside hitter Megan Amundson had a team-high 15 kills and a .364 attack percentage and middle blocker Emily Jepsen added 13 kills on .480 hitting and a match-high six blocks as Western Washington University swept University of Alaska Fairbanks, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21, on Thursday in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match in Fairbanks, Alaska.
The Vikings, who have won four straight matches, equaling their season high, improved to 15-7 overall and remained in third place at 8-3 in GNAC action.
Outside hitter Marlayna Geary had a match-high 17 kills and middle blocker Emily Jepsen added 16 kills and a match-high seven blocks as Western Washington defeated Western Oregon 25-17, 21-25, 25-16, 25-16 on Thursday, Oct. 15, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match at WWU.
Outside hitters Marlayna Geary and Megan Amundson each had double-doubles in kills and digs as Western Washington University defeated Saint Martin's University 25-23, 26-28, 25-23, 25-16 on Saturday, Oct. 10, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match in Lacey.
Outside hitter Marlayna Geary had a match-high 19 kills on .400 hitting (35 attempts, 5 errors) as Western Washington University swept arch-rival Central Washington University, 25-16, 31-29, 25-16, on Saturday in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
Western Washington University had an attack percentage of just .142 as it was swept by league-leading Seattle Pacific University, 25-20, 25-22, 25-13, on Wednesday night in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match at Royal Brougham Pavilion.
If there's one thing the Western Washington University volleyball team has learned about itself through the first 15 matches of the season is that there's going to be some bad that goes along with the good.
Middle blocker Jackie Matthisen had match highs of 28 kills and 18 digs as University of Alaska Anchorage defeated Western Washington University, 25-20, 17-25, 25-17, 21-25, 15-11, on Thursday, Sept. 24, at Western.
Sophomore middle blocker Emily Jepsen had team-highs of 15 kills and five blocks and freshman outside hitter Marlayna Geary added 14 kills and a team-high 16 digs as Western Washington University defeated defending Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion Western Oregon University 25-17, 25-17, 23-25, 25-22 Saturday, Sept. 19, in a league volleyball match at Monmouth, Ore.
Over the summer months, many high school kids were busy working, on vacation or playing sports. But Curtis High School volleyball star Samantha Hutchinson spent hers battling a life-threatening disease.
Outside hitter Marlayna Geary had a match-high 15 kills as Western Washington University swept Saint Martin's University, 25-11, 25-20, 25-19, Thursday night in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball match on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
It was the conference opener for both teams.
The Vikings improved to 8-4 overall with their 21st straight win over Saint Martin's, which last posted a series win in 1998.
Erika Dupree and Laura Prinsen each had 11 kills as West Texas A&M University defeated Western Washington University 25-14, 25-17, 25-21, in the final match Saturday of the three-day, eight-team Viking Invitational Volleyball Tournament on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
It's still pretty early in the season for the Western Washington University volleyball team to start pushing the panic button, but after a lackluster start to the WWU Invitational coach Diane Flick might be tempted.
As it is a lengthy discussion in the locker room following a 25-18, 25-15, 25-21 loss to the University of British Columbia on Thursday, Sept. 10, will have to suffice.
The disappointment that came with missing out on the postseason last year hasn't really faded for the Western Washington University volleyball team.
Instead of healing, time has left a healthy-sized chip on the shoulders of every returning player on the Vikings' roster. If there's one driving force for WWU in 2009, it's to leave nothing to chance - or a selection committee.v
Western Washington University head coach Diane Flick reached the 200 plateau in career victories in her 10th season as Western Washington University recorded a pair of sweeps Thursday in opening-day action at the Central Washington University Invitational Volleyball Tournament.
The Vikings, ranked No. 21 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, improved to 5-1 as they defeated Walla Walla University 25-13, 25-16, 25-15 and Brigham Young Hawaii 25-23, 25-23, 25-21.
Outside hitters Megan Amundson and Marlayna Geary combined for 66 kills and 51 digs, each posting double-doubles in both matches, as nationally ranked Western Washington University closed out the Southern California Volleyball Classic with two victories Saturday, Aug. 30, defeating Ashland (Ohio) 24-26, 25-21, 25-20, 25-20 and Cal State L.A., 25-18, 23-25, 25-21, 20-25, 15-12.
It shouldn't take long for the Western Washington University volleyball team to find out how it stacks up against the best in nation.
About two matches to be exact.
The Vikings open the 2009 season on the road at the SoCal Classic in Carson, Calif., with four matches, including two against a pair of the top-ranked teams in NCAA Division II.
Nate Langstraat, the head women's volleyball coach at Whatcom Community College for the last eight seasons, will serve as a volunteer assistant coach at Western Washington University this fall. Making that announcement was Viking coach Diane Flick.While attending Western, Langstraat played men's club volleyball for three seasons. He transferred to WWU from Montana State Billings where he earned one varsity letter in volleyball as a freshman before the sport was dropped.
