Box Score

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Western Washington University volleyball team's bid for a second consecutive trip to the Elite 8 came to an end with a hard-fought 25-19, 25-27, 21-25, 23-25 loss to No. 1 seed Alaska Anchorage Saturday evening in the NCAA Division II West Regional Final played at Alaska Airlines Center.

The No. 3 seed Vikings had their season come to a close finishing with a 23-8 record and making the program's fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament. Alaska Anchorage improved to 32-2 overall and advances to the national Elite 8 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota next week for the first time in program history. Western had its 8-match winning streak at the Alaska Airlines Center snapped with the loss.

"We just couldn't put it together, and made some untimely errors, and in that environment it hurts you," said head coach Diane Flick-Williams. "Ultimately, I think we had a good season being displaced for two years and going to the regional final both seasons. I am proud of our group of how hard they worked and how they competed to the very end. We have high standards and this group of players is elevating our program to the next level."

Junior Arielle Turner (Leavenworth, WA/Cascade) led the Vikings with 14 kills and sophomore Abby Phelps (Manson, WA/Chelan) had 11 kills and 28 digs for her league-leading 19th double-double of the season.

Four Vikings reached double-digits in points, led by 16.5 by Turner, 15.5 by Phelps, 14.5 by Kayleigh Harper (9 kills, 9 blocks) and 10.0 by Joellee Buckner (7 kills, 4 blocks, 28 digs). Buckner's younger sister, Aubree, also recorded 20 digs.

The Seawolves were led by a match-high 16 kills from Emily Swiss (also 12 digs) and 10 kills and 24 digs from Chrisalyn Johnson. GNAC Player of the Year Morgan Hooe left the match in the first set with an ankle injury, but returned to spark the Seawolves to the victory with 39 assist, 13 digs and a pair of service aces.

The Vikings opened the match with a 25-19 win in the first set, bolstered by a 5-0 run to pull away from a 12-11 lead. UAA closed to within two points at 17-15, but WWU closed out the game on an 8-4 run to go up 1-0. UAA setter and GNAC Player of the Year Morgan Hooe left midway through the set with an ankle injury before returning in the second set.

UAA evened things up at 1-1 with a 27-25 second set victory. The Seawolves led 24-21, but WWU fended off three consecutive set points and eventually took the 25-24 lead on a Joellee Buckner service ace. UAA closed out the set with three consecutive points to earn the win.

The Seawolves went up 2-1 with a 25-21 win in the third set, despite a furious comeback by the Vikings. WWU trailed 21-12, but went on an 8-0 run to climb to within one point at 21-20. UAA rotated out after a timeout and went on a 4-1 run to end the set to go up 2-1.

Anchorage sealed the match with a 25-23 win in the fourth set, despite another furious Viking comeback. WWU trailed 14-10, but went on an 11-4 run to grab an 21-18 lead. UAA climbed back to tie the set at 23-23 going on a 5-2 run, and closed the match out with a Hooe ace and Johnson kill to advance to the NCAA Division II quarterfinal round.

"I think that this match is for our offseason training," added Flick-Williams. "We were not quite sure on what we needed to improve upon after last season, but this will motivate us to train harder and to work hard for next year."

The Vikings will return to their on-campus facility next season after playing home games the last two seasons at Whatcom Community College after the two-year renovation of Carver Gym is completed.

All-Regional Team: WWU's Kayleigh Harper, Abby Phelps and Arielle Turner were named to the West Regional All-Tournament Team.