BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Playing its first home postseason match in program history, the Western Washington University volleyball team recorded a 3-0 sweep over Cal State East Bay Thursday night in quarterfinal action of the NCAA Division II Volleyball West Regional in front of a crowd of 1,143 in Carver Gymnasium. 

Making their seventh consecutive NCAA Championships appearance, the No. 1 seed Vikings faced a formidable challenge from No. 8 seed Cal State East Bay, falling behind by as much as 15-6 in the second set before rallying to collect the 25-22, 25-22, 25-21 victory to advance to the semifinal round of the West Regional.

With the win, Western Washington improved to 26-6 on the season and won its 26th consecutive match. The Vikings move on to face No. 4 seed Cal Poly Pomona in the regional semifinals on Friday at 7:30 pm in Carver Gym. The match will follow the first semifinal match featuring No. 2 seed Cal State San Bernardino and No. 6 seed Central Washington that begins at 5 pm.

The Vikings had to rally in both the first and second sets to take the victory, coming back from a three-point deficit in the first set and a nine-point hole in the second set. Western Washington outscored Cal State East Bay 19-6 over the last half of the second frame before leading most of the way in the third to collect its 26th consecutive victory of the season.

Senior outside hitter Abby Phelps (Manson, WA/Chelan) led the Vikings with her 24th double-double of the season, collecting 14 kills and 21 digs. Junior middle blocker Kayleigh Harper (Oak Harbor, WA) finished with 14 kills and a .609 hitting percentage while sophomore outside hitter Alison Davenport (Auburn, WA/Auburn Mountainview) finished with 10 kills. Senior setter Brette Boesel (Brewster, WA) added 45 assists.

Cal State East Bay, competing in its first NCAA Division II postseason after years as a Division III power, was led by senior outside hitter Lindsey Ray's 11 kills and 11 digs. Senior middle blocker Deja Thompson also had 11 kills to go with four blocks while senior outside hitter Kiki Leuteneker added 10 kills. Senior setter Katie Ireland also had a double-double with 37 assists and 18 digs. The Pioneers ended the season at 16-13.

Even with the home court advantage, the Vikings had to fend off some scrappy play from the Pioneers to win the opening set. Cal State East Bay opened up an 8-6 lead early on a setting error before Davenport pulled back to even at 9-9 on a service ace. The two teams matched each other almost point-for-point until Phelps came up with a kill and a block for the 19-17 advantage.

The Vikings made it a 23-20 on the second kill of the frame by redshirt freshman Gabby Gunterman (Lake Stevens, WA) and held off another Pioneers' surge before Gunterman ended it with a kill for the 25-22 victory. The Vikings hit .395 in the set led by Phelps' seven kills and six digs while Harper was a perfect five kills on five attacks.

Cal State East Bay continued to challenge the hosts in the second set, jumping out to an 8-2 lead on a pair of Thompson kills. The Pioneers then outscored the Vikings 7-4 and seemingly had them on the ropes when Kiki Leuteneker's kill made it a 15-6 advantage.

The WWU deficit was 19-12 when the Vikings slowly climbed back into the frame. Back-to-back kills by Davenport and an East Bay attack error brought Western back to within 20-16 before Harper's kill started a string of six straight points, fueled by four Harper kills, gave the Vikings the 22-21 lead. Western Washington scored the final three points of the set, culminating on Mae Thungc's service ace for the 25-22 comeback.

After a close start to the third set, the Vikings did what they could to build the cushion they needed to complete the sweep. Boesel put WWU up 8-5 with a service ace and Davenport's kill later made it a 12-7 advantage. Phelps then converted back-to-back kills that gave Western its biggest lead of the frame at 17-11.

The Vikings take on Cal Poly Pomona in the West Regional Semifinal at 7:30 pm Friday night in Carver Gym…the Carver Gym box office will open at 4 pm, one hour prior to the first semifinal match between Cal State San Bernardino and Central Washington…both matches will stream live on GNAC.tv and YouTube.

Kills - Phelps (14), Harper (14), Davenport (10)

Aces - Boesel (1), Phelps (1), Davenport (1)

Blocks - Phelps (2), Hall (2), Harper (2)

Assists - Boesel (45)

Digs - Phelps (21), Stephens (18), Thungc (11)

WWU extended winning streaks of 26 matches this season and 29 consecutive in Carver Gym…during the 26-match winning streak the Vikings have won 78 of 90 sets and recorded 18 sweeps…here is a look at the longest winning streaks in program history:

Fans can follow WWU Volleyball online at WWUVikings.com/VB, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUVolleyball), Instagram (@WWUVB) and Facebook (@WWUVolleyball).

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