Wednesday, November 30, 2016
IT'S TOURNAMENT TIME: A conference that has proven dominant in regional play all season will have a chance to prove itself again as five GNAC teams will compete in the NCAA Division II West Region Championship, Thursday through Saturday at Alaska Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center.
The five teams is the most ever for the GNAC squad and marks the thrid consecutive year that the tournament is being held in GNAC Country. The Seawolves is the host for the second straight season.
And after being eliminated in the semifinals last season, Alaska Anchorage is looking for redemption. The No. 1 seed in the region, Seawolves improved on a record year in 2015 with another one in 2016, entering the tournament with a 29-2 record. After taking a three-set loss to Chaminade back on Aug. 26, UAA’s only loss was in five sets to Western Washington at home on Oct. 22.
Alaska Anchorage is led by setter Morgan Hooe, who was named the GNAC and D2CCA West Region Player of the Year.
The Seawolves will face No. 8 seed Chico State. The Wildcats advanced as an at-large selection after finished the regular season with a 23-7 overall record. The Wildcats were 15-3 in California Collegiate Athletic Association play. Chico State lost in the CCAA Tournament championship in five sets to Cal State San Bernardino, who is in the tournament as the No. 2 seed.
Western Washington, the defending West Region champion, is the No. 3 seed in the tournament. The Vikings overcame a sluggish start to the season to finish with a 21-7 overall record and in second place in the GNAC at 17-3.
Western Washington enters the tourney having won 16 of its last 17 matches and has never lost a match in the Alaska Airlines Center.
The Vikings will open against No. 6 seed Cal Baptist, who earned the PacWest Conference’s automatic qualifier. The Lancers finished the regular season with a 20-8 overall record and placed second in the PacWest at 15-5 (Concordia-Irvine, the PacWest champion, is not eligible for the postseason due to its transition from NAIA to Division II).
Cal Baptist lost its last two matches of the regular season, but succeeded in pushing the Vikings to five sets when the two teams met in the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase on Sept. 9.
No. 4 seed Simon Fraser and No. 5 seed Northwest Nazarene will meet each other for the third time this season. The Clan won both regular season meetings in three sets. For Simon Fraser, this is its first appearance in the Division II championship and enter with a 21-7 overall record and finished third in the GNAC at 14-6.
The Crusaders are making their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearnace. Northwest Nazarene finished the regular season at 20-7 and tied for fourth in the GNAC at 13-7 with Central Washington, who enters the tournament as the No. 7 seed. The Wildcats finished with a 17-11 regular season mark and enters having won three of its last four matches.
Central Washington will face an experienced Cal State San Bernardino squad in the opener. The tournament’s No. 2 seed, the Coyotes earned the CCAA’s automatic qualifer with a five-set win over Chico State in the CCAA Tournament. They enter the tournament with a 24-4 overall record and had the best CCAA conference record at 15-2.
ABOUT THE GNAC TOURNAMENT TEAMS
ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Alaska Anchorage won its second consecutive GNAC championship with a three-set sweep of Seattle Pacific on Nov. 17. The Seawolves enter the tournament with a 29-2 overall record, the best in program history.
• Senior setter Morgan Hooe was named both the GNAC and D2CCA West Region Player of the Year. The acknowledged team leader, Hooe enters the tournament averaging 10.57 assists per set and boasts a team-best .396 hitting percentage.
• Chris Green was named GNAC Coach of the Year for the third consecutive year and the fourth time in his career at UAA.
• Freshman middle blocker Diana Fa’amausili was named both the GNAC and AVCA Freshman of the Year. Fa’amausili enters the tournament ranked 10th in the GNAC with a .258 hitting percentage and is eighth in the league with 1.06 blocks per set.
• Sophomore outside hitter Leah Swiss joined Hooe as a selection to both the D2CCA and AVCA All-West Region squads. Fa’amausili was a honorable mention to the AVCA team.
• In the 2015 West Regional, held in Anchorage, UAA opened with a five-set win over Dixie State before bowing out in a five-set loss to Cal State San Bernardino in the semifinals.
• Alaska Anchorage finished the regular season leading the GNAC in opponent hitting percentage (.119) and aces (1.80 per set) and second in hitting percentage (.232) and kills (14.04 per set). In the Division II stats, the Seawolves are ninth in opponent hitting percentage and 12th in blocks per set.
• Alaska Anchorage leads Division II in attendance, averaging 1,228 fans per match. The Seawolves have attracted nine of the top-20 crowds this season, topped by the 2,257 fans that saw the match against Central Washington on Nov. 12. That is the biggest crowd in Division II this season.
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington is making its fifth straight appearance in the West Region Tournament. The No. 7 seed, the Wildcats tied for fifth in the GNAC with Northwest Nazarene at 13-7 and are 17-11 overall.
• The Wildcats closed the regular season on two-match win streak and having won three of its last four matches. The two wins were three-set sweeps of Western Oregon and Concordia.
• Junior middle blocker Sabrina Wheelhouse was named to the D2CAA All-West Region First Team and was a honorable mention for the AVCA All-West Region Team. Wheelhouse enters the tournament second in Division II with 1.69 blocks per set. She is also fourth in the GNAC weith a .308 hitting percentage.
• Central Washington enters the tournament leading Division II in blocking with 3.01 blocks per set. In addition to Wheelhouse, Erin Little is 13th in the nation individually with 1.23 blocks per set. Little also ranks 12th in the GNAC with a .251 hitting percentage.
• Sophomore outside hitter Madison Weg is 11th in the GNAC with a .253 hitting percentage while freshman libero Kyla Morgan is sixth with 4.73 digs per set.
• Central Washington will face Cal State San Bernardino in the quarterfinals for the second straight year. The Wildcats lost the match-up last year in five sets.
• The Wildcats finished the regular season fifth in the GNAC with a .199 hitting percentage and a .176 opponent’s hitting percentage. The Wildcats are 31st in Division II with 38.54 team attacks per set.
NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene tied for fourth in the GNAC with Central Washington at 13-7, but used a solid 20-7 overall mark to secure the West Region’s No. 5 seed.
• The Crusaders will face No. 4 seed Simon Fraser in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The Clan beat NNU in three sets in both regular season meetings.
• Junior middle blocker Madi Farrell was selected to both the D2CCA and AVCA All-West Region first teams. Farrell finished the regular season second in the GNAC and 29th in Division II with a .359 hitting percentage. Farrell is also seventh in the GNAC with 3.34 kills per set.
• Junior outside hitter Kendra Bodine was named to the AVCA All-West Region First Team and the D2CCA All-West Region Second Team. Bodine led the GNAC and is 31st in Division II with 3.99 kills per set and is 42nd in Division II with 4.33 points per set.
• Junior setter Hailey Cook enters the tournament second in the GNAC with an average of 11.49 assists per set.
• Northwest Nazarene is in the tournament field for the first time since 2014 when they won the GNAC and hosted the West Regional. That season, NNU was upset by No. 8 seed Dixie State in the first round.
• As a team, Northwest Nazarene is third in the GNAC and 18th in Division II with 13.01 assists per set. The Crusaders are forth in the GNAC with a .219 hitting percentage, a .169 opponent hitting percentage and 18.43 digs per set (24th in Division II).
SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser is making its first appearance in the Division II West Regional. The No. 4 seed, the Clan will face conference foe Northwest Nazarene in the opening round. Simon Fraser won both regular season meetings in three-set sweeps.
• The Clan finished third in the GNAC with a 14-6 record and ended the regular season at 21-7 overall. Simon Fraser enters the tournament having four of their last five matches.
• Senior defensive specialist Alison McKay was selected as the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year and also earned selection to both the D2CCA and AVCA All-West Region first teams. McKay led the GNAC and is fourth in Division II with an average of 6.60 digs per set.
• Sophomore middle blocker Tessa May is seventh in the GNAC with a .277 hitting percentage and is also fifth in the league and 27th in Division II with an average of 1.15 blocks per set.
• Senior Tamara Nipp was a First Team All-GNAC selection. She leads the GNAC and is 12th in Division II with 11.56 assists per set.
• As a team, Simon Fraser leads the GNAC and is fifth in Division II with 20.10 digs per set. The Clan is also second in Division II with 40.60 team attacks per set, 17th with 13.10 assists per set and 27th with 13.75 kills per set.
• The volleyball program is the third Simon Fraser team to advance to the NCAA Division II postseason this fall. The men’s soccer team hosted West Region first and second round matches in Seattle while the women’s cross country team advanced to the Division II National Championship in Saint Leo, Fla.
WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington returns to defend its West Region championship. The Vikings are the No. 3 seed in the tournament and will face No. 6 Cal Baptist in the quarterfinals.
• The Vikings won its quarterfinal match over Point Loma in three sets in 2015 before going five sets to down UC San Diego in the semifinals and Cal State San Bernardino in the championship. The next week, Western Washington defeated Rockhurst in the national quarterfinals before falling in three sets to eventual national champion Wheeling Jesuit in the semis.
• Western Washington finished the regular season at 21-7 overall and placed second in the GNAC at 17-3. After going 5-6 in its first 11 matches, the Vikings have gone 16-1 since.
• The Vikings enter the tournament with 6-0 record at the Alaska Airlines Center, which includes all three regular season meetings in the building with Alaska Anchorage.
• Sophomore middle blocker Kayleigh Harper was named to the AVCA All-West Region Team and to the D2CCA All-West Region second team. Harper leads the GNAC and is 17th in Division II with a .369 hitting percentage.
• Sophomore outside hitter Abby Phelps earned a spot on the AVCA All-West Region Team. She enters the tournament seventh in the GNAC with 4.47 digs per set and ninth with 3.16 kills per set.
• As a team, Western Washington leads the GNAC and is 10th in Division II with a .259 hitting percentage. The Vikings also lead the GNAC and rank seventh in Division II with 14.40 kills per set and are eighth in Division II with 13.50 assists per set.