Thursday, December 9, 2021

TAMPA, Fla. – The newcomers to the quarterfinals had few answers for the No. 2 seeded team in the field as Western Washington hit a season-high .435 to come away with a three-set win over No. 7 seeded Daemen in the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship at Bob Martinez Athletics Center.

Sophomore outside hitter Calley Heilborn led the way with 13 kills and a .550 hitting percentage as the Vikings committed just six attack errors in the match and only two in the first two sets. Junior outside hitter Gabby Gunterman finished with eight kills and a match-high four blocks and sophomore middle blocker Olivia Fairchild added seven kills. Sophomore setter Malia Aleaga played a key role, finishing with 28 assists and four kills on 12 attack attempts.

Daemen, which was playing in its first-ever national quarterfinal, finished with a .099 hitting percentage and managed just two blocks in the match. Western Washington’s .435 team hitting percentage was the best by a GNAC team this season.

“I am really proud of our team. You never know what is going to come out when you start a national tournament and I thought we didn’t play as jittery as we have in the past,” said Western Washington head coach Diane Flick-Williams. “We hit for a pretty incredible number and I thought we controlled the ball well. Our setter distributed the ball really well. Really glad with how we started.”

Caitlyn Meyer led Daemen (25-8) with eight kills and seven digs while Sam Logan finished with seven kills.

With the win, Western Washington faces a matchup with No. 3 seeded Washburn on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. Eastern/11 a.m. Pacific. The Ichabods advanced to the semifinals with a four-set win over No. 6 seeded West Texas A&M.

“I think we are going to have to have another notch we are going to need for tomorrow night, so we’ll get our hard hats on and have to get ready for business,” Flick-Williams said.

The Vikings could do little wrong in the opening set, committing just two attack errors on 23 total attempts and did not allow the Wildcats a single point off their own serve. With the score tied 3-3, a kill by junior outside hitter Tess Biscup started a seven-point run that was buoyed by excellent serving by sophomore defensive specialist Tupu Lologo. The seven-point run yielded to two three-point runs and a four-point run, capped by a kill from Gunterman, that built a commanding 20-8 lead en route to the eventual 25-12 win.

Western Washington struggled a bit in the second set, falling victim to a number of service errors and errors at the net. What mistakes the Vikings made, however, was offset by by no attack errors in the frame. The Vikings trailed 13-10 on a Vanessa Kuliga kill before a four-point run, buoyed by Lologo’s second ace of the match, evened it at 13-13. The set remained close until an Aleaga kill ignited an eight-point run that closed the frame for the 25-16 victory. Heilborn had the final two kills of the run with Fairchild contributing a kill and a block.

After the opening point, the Vikings never trailed in the third set. Two kills and a block by Biscup opened up a 6-2 lead and another Gunterman kill made it a 14-8 set. The Wildcats managed to close to within 20-18 on a WWU ball-handling error but two kills and a block by junior middle blocker Chloe Roetcisoender helped close it out in favor of the Vikings.