Wednesday, November 14, 2018

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - One team is looking for a major of revenge, the other is looking to get into the win column and both have something to prove.

As the GNAC’s two lone representatives in the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship, both Western Washington and Central Washington have plenty to show the region’s six other teams when they converge for the NCAA West Regional at Carver Gym beginning on Thursday.
On the surface, it doesn’t look like Western Washington has much to prove. The Vikings are the sixth team in GNAC history to finish the conference season undefeated and the first since the conference expanded to 11 teams in 2010 to finish with a 20-0 record.

The Vikings enter the West Regional riding an impressive 25-match win streak, having not dropped a match since losing the first three matches of the season at the West Florida Invitational on Aug. 24 and 25, all to teams ranked at the time in the AVCA Division II Coaches Top-25. Western Washington led the GNAC and is fourth in Division II with 2.82 blocks per set while the Vikings’ .257 hitting percentage is 17th nationally.

Despite the numbers, Western Washington wants to prove that it is truly the best in the region. The Vikings earned the West Region’s No. 1 seed and the right to host the West Regional over Cal State San Bernardino, who spent much of the second half of the regular season ranked No. 1 in the AVCA Division II Coaches Top-25 Poll. The selection committee, however, took the Vikings as the No. 1 seed based on a five-set win over the Coyotes in the opening match of the Division II West Region Volleyball Showcase on Aug. 30.

Western Washington is led by two-time GNAC Player of the Year and D2CCA First Team All-West Region outside hitter Abby Phelps. The senior ended the regular season leading the GNAC and ranking 28th in Division II with 3.91 kills per set while also leading the league and ranking 27th nationally with 4.42 points per set. She finished with double-doubles (kills and digs) in 23 of the Vikings’ 28 matches.

Junior middle blocker Kayleigh Harper became a three-time First Team All-GNAC and First Team D2CCA All-West Region selection and did not miss a beat after sitting out the 2017 season. Harper leads the GNAC and is ninth in Division II with a .397 hitting percentage and also leads the GNAC and is fifth in Division II with 1.43 blocks per set.

Western Washington is making its seventh straight NCAA appearance and its 14th appearance since the GNAC was formed in 2001. The Vikings have advanced to the West Regional final each of the last three years, winning in 2015, and is hosting the West Regional for the first time in program history.

Central Washington, the No. 6 seed in the tournament, is ready to move beyond the “happy to be here” stage and advanced to the West Regional semifinals for the first time in over a decade. Like the Vikings, the Wildcats are in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the seventh consecutive year, but have been bounced in the first round in each of the last six tournaments.

The Wildcats finished the regular season with a 22-5 overall record and second in the GNAC with a 16-4 conference mark. They enter the NCAA West Regional having won eight straight matches and their last seven in three-set sweeps.

Central Washington leads the GNAC and is seventh in Division II with 13.83 assists per set as well as leading the GNAC and ranking fifth in Division II with 14.71 kills per set.

Junior libero Kyla Morgan was named the GNAC’s Defensive Player of the Year and enters the NCAA West Regional ranked 17th in Division II with 5.90 digs per set. She has paced a Wildcats’ defense that has allowed a .166 opponent hitting percentage and allowed opponents just 19 sets won in conference play.

Senior outside hitter Shelby Mauritson leads the Wildcats offensively. A First Team All-GNAC and D2CCA All-West Region selection, Mauritson enters the tournament ranked second in the GNAC and 36th in Division II with 3.80 kills per set while also ranking second in the GNAC with 4.22 points per set.

Central Washington will open the tournament on Thursday, facing No. 3 seed Cal State LA at noon. Western Washington will close out the first day of competition against No. 8 seed Cal State East Bay at 7:30 p.m.

NCAA DIVISION II WEST REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Thurs., Nov. 15, Quarterfinals
No. 3 Cal State LA vs. No. 6 Central Washington, Noon
No. 2 Cal State San Bernardino vs. No. 7 Chaminade, 2:30 p.m.
No. 4 Cal Poly Pomona vs. No. 5 Azusa Pacific, 5 p.m.
No. 1 Western Washington vs. No. 8 Cal State East Bay, 7:30 p.m.

Fri., Nov. 16, Semifinals
Winner 3/6 vs. Winner 2/7, 5 p.m.
Winner 4/5 vs. Winner 1/8. 7:30 p.m.

Sat., Nov. 17
Championship Match, 7 p.m.