BURNABY, BC – In their first, and arguably biggest, test of the young GNAC season, the SFU Clan (8-1) passed with flying colours.

In front of a packed West Gym on Red Night the Clan downed the Western Washington Vikings (4-5), ranked No. 19 in the NCAA, in a five set thriller. With set scores of 25-13, 21-25, 25-21, 18-25, and 15-8, the Clan were full value in the win, the program's first over Western Washington since moving to the NCAA back in 2010. It came on the team's home and GNAC opener against its border rival.
 

"To come out and execute against such a good opponent, that's definitely what we wanted to do," said SFU head coach Gina Schmidt. "I've said to the girls that I want this to be a year of firsts, and hopefully this is just the first of those."

The Clan got contributions from all over the court, with senior Emma Jennings (19 kills, 21 digs), sophomore Tessa May (17 kills, eight blocks), and junior Christine Howlett (14 kills) taking starring roles on the attack. Senior setter Tamara Nipp was phenomenal for Simon Fraser, posting a season-high 63 assists to go along with three kills and an ace.

In a game dictated by set-altering runs for either side, Simon Fraser saved their best for the fifth frame. Knotted up at 3-3, the Clan strung together a 6-0 run on the back of a few Vikings errors as well as a spectacular sequence from Nipp, who earned a kill, assist, and block, on three straight points. The Clan never lost control of the set, sealing the 15-8 result on an emphatic kill from Devon May.

That dominant final stanza seemed a perfect ending to the rollercoaster of a contest that preceded it. The 800 fans on hand were treated to a terrific opening set in which SFU broke open an 11-11 stalemate with a 15-2 run. Tessa May was dominant in that opening stanza, notching six kills while disrupting Western Washington's offense at the net.

The second frame was much the same, with a flipped script, as the Vikings turned an 8-8 deadlock into a 18-11 advantage. The Clan did well to recover, but couldn't claw all the way back, and ended up dropping the second set 25-21.

The third and fourth frames saw both sides take turns pushing the play, and the two sides fittingly traded sets once again, with SFU taking the third 25-21 before the Vikings responded with the 25-21 decision in the fourth.

"It was really back-and-forth, but I think we stayed really solid in terms of our passing and ability to sideout," said Schmidt. "There were a few sets where we had trouble stopping them defensively, but for the most part, we were able to go point-for-point with them on those occasions. When we focused on controlling the ball on our side and finishing hard, we were able to control the match more."
 
The Clan will now take their act back out on the road, as they will take on the Montana-State Billings University Yellowjackets this Friday, September 16. The first serve is scheduled for 6:00 pm in Billings, MT.

"Tonight, we're going to enjoy this, but tomorrow, it's back to work," said Schmidt. "It was a big game tonight, but every game we play from now on is going to be a big game."