The Western Washington University volleyball team continued its perfect start to the 2019 season defeating Spring Hill College of Mobile, Ala., 3-1 on Friday evening at the Springhill Suites Invitational on the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Fla.

The Vikings defeated the Badgers 16-25, 25-15, 25-17, 25-16 to improve to 3-0 on the season, with a pair of wins coming against ranked opponents and all three opponents appearing in the 2018 NCAA Division II Championships.

Redshirt freshman Calley Heilborn (Auburn Riverside) led the Vikings with a 20-kill, 17-dig double-double. The outside hitter added three blocks and one service ace for a team-high 22.5 points. In the first three matches of her collegiate career, Heilborn is averaging 3.38 kills and 2.62 digs per set.

Sophomore outside hitter Gabby Gunterman (Lake Stevens) recorded her third consecutive double-double to open the season with 12 kills and 21 digs.

Senior libero Mae Thungc (Kentridge) also contributed 16 digs and redshirt freshman setter Malia Aleaga (Burien, Kennedy Catholic) recorded her third straight 50-assist match.

“There are a lot of lessons out there for us to learn and we did a good job figuring it out after the first set,” said WWU 20th-year coach Diane Flick-Williams. “Calley was really aggressive offensively and sprayed the ball to keep their defense guessing. And our defense was extremely active, starting with Mae.”

WWU out-hit a season-high .319, while holding its opponent to a .109 attack percentage. The Vikings also held a decisive advantage in kills (59-32), digs (73-53) and blocks (7-4).

Up next

The Vikings (3-0) complete the season-opening Spring Hill Suites Invitational Saturday against Florida Tech (0-2) with first serve scheduled for 10:30 a.m. PDT from the UWF Field House. The match can be viewed live online at WWUVikings.com/VB_Watch.