SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – All season long Western Washington University head volleyball coach Diane Flick-Williams has preached the Vikings are a galaxy full of stars.
 
And that mantra was on full display Friday evening with the No. 2 seed and No. 13 nationally-ranked Vikings storming back from a third-set deficit to earn a 3-1 victory over Central Washington University in the NCAA Division II Championships West Regional Semifinal in Coussoulis Arena.
 
WWU (23-4) extended its winning streak to 18 consecutive matches defeating the Wildcats by scores of 25-21, 20-25, 28-26, 25-15 to punch its ticket into the West Regional Final for the fifth time in the last six seasons. The Vikings will match up against No. 5 seed Cal State Los Angeles, who upset No. 1 seed and defending national champion Cal State San Bernardino in a 3-0 sweep. First serve for the West Regional Final is scheduled for Saturday at 7:30 pm, with the winner earning a berth to the NCAA II Elite 8 that will be held December 9-11 in Tampa, Florida. The Vikings are three-time regional champions and played for the national title in 2007 and 2018.
 
"I hope what people saw the last two days showed what it is like to play in the GNAC every single match," said Flick-Williams. "It's a testament and how hard we have to compete."
 
With the match tied one set apiece, the Vikings found themselves down 23-16, but battled back going on a 8-1 run to tie at 24-24. After staving off four set points that would have put CWU up 2-1, WWU finished with a 3-0 run for the 28-26 win to turn the momentum. Junior middle Chloe Roetcisoender fueled the rally with three blocks during the run and subs Kylie Honrud and Gabby Kepley provided a spark when inserted into the lineup.
 
"It was huge for us to battle back in the third set and take that into the fourth," added Flick-Williams. "Even if we didn't win it we needed to get it close. We did a good job of carrying that momentum into the fourth and continuing to do what we did to get there."
 
After storming back in the third set, the Vikings carried that momentum into the fourth stanza pulling away from a 6-6 tie by going on a 9-2 run to take a 15-8 lead. WWU never looked back to gain the 10-point edge in the set 25-15, with junior middle Olivia Fairchild recording three kills and four blocks in the set to lead the Vikings.
 
Junior outside hitter Gabby Gunterman finished with a team-leading 16 kills on a .419 hitting percentage, also contributing nine digs and one block assist for 16.5 points.
 
Roetcisoender totaled 15.5 points with 10 kills on a .563 hitting percentage and led all players with eight blocks.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Calley Heilborn had 13 kills and a career-high-tying six blocks. Sophomore setter Malia Aleaga dished out 53 assists and also had four kills. Sophomore libero Kasey Woodruff led all Vikings with 11 digs.
 
The Wildcats (17-9) were led by a match-high 19 kills from Ashley Kaufman and 14 digs by libero Hannah Stires. Tia Andaya contributed nine kills and 21 assists as she neared a double-double.
  The Vikings (23-4) advances to the West Regional Championship Match for the fifth time in the last six seasons and will be competing for its fourth regional title. WWU matches up against Cal State Los Angeles (20-9) in the regional final after the Golden Eagles upset No. 1 seed and host Cal State San Bernardino in a 3-0 sweep. The match can be followed live online via a free webcast and live statistical updates with direct links at wwuvikings.com/Live.   Kills – Gunterman (16), Heilborn (13), Fairchild (12)
Aces – Aleaga (2), Woodruff (1)
Blocks – Roetcisoender (8), Heilborn (5), Fairchild (4)
Assists – Aleaga (53), Lologo (2)
Digs – Woodruff (11), Gunterman (9), Aleaga (6)
Points – Gunterman (16.5), Roetcisoender (15.5), Heilborn (15.5), Fairchild (14.5)
  The Vikings improved to 24-14 all-time in 15 trips to the NCAA Division II Championships. WWU is making its ninth consecutive trip to the West Regional and is the No. 2 seed in the eight-team tournament. WWU has now recorded at least one win in 10 of 15 NCAA tournament appearances. WWU played for the national title in 2018 and advanced to the regional semifinal in 2019, with the 2020 championships canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Vikings have advanced to the West Regional championship match in five of the last six seasons, and are three-time West Region Champions (2007, 2015, 2018). Here is a match-by-match look at how the Vikings have fared in 14 previous appearances in the NCAA Championships:
 
2001 (No. 3 seed) – San Bernardino, CA
Defeated Cal State L.A. 3-2
Lost to UC San Diego, 3-0
 
2002 (No. 3 seed) – San Bernardino, CA
Lost to Cal State L.A., 3-2
 
2003 (No. 2 seed) – La Jolla, CA
Lost to Cal State San Bernardino, 3-1
 
2006 (No. 7 seed) – San Bernardino, CA
Lost to UC San Diego, 3-1
 
2007 (No. 2 seed) – San Bernardino, CA
Defeated Chico State, 3-0
Defeated UC San Diego, 3-2
Defeated Cal State San Bernardino, 3-0 (West Regional Final)
Defeated Dowling, 3-0
Defeated Washburn, 3-1
Lost to Concordia-St. Paul, 3-1 (NCAA Championship Match)
 
2010 (No. 3 seed) – San Bernardino, CA
Defeated Alaska Anchorage, 3-1
Lost to Seattle Pacific, 3-2
 
2012 (No. 4 seed) – Laie, HI
Defeated Sonoma State, 3-0
Lost to BYU Hawaii, 3-1
 
2013 (No. 5 seed) – San Bernardino, CA
Lost to Sonoma State, 3-0
 
2014 (No. 3 seed) – Nampa, ID
Lost to Cal State San Bernardino, 3-1
 
2015 (No. 2 seed) – Anchorage, AK
Defeated Point Loma, 3-0
Defeated UC San Diego, 3-2
Defeated Cal State San Bernardino, 3-2 (West Regional Final)
Defeated Rockhurst, 3-1
Lost to Wheeling Jesuit, 3-0 (National Semifinal)
 
2016 (No. 3 seed) – Anchorage, AK
Defeated California Baptist, 3-0
Defeated Cal State San Bernardino, 3-0
Lost to Alaska Anchorage, 3-1 (West Regional Final)
 
2017 (No. 2 seed) – Riverside, CA
Defeated Alaska Anchorage, 3-1
Defeated Northwest Nazarene, 3-1
Lost to Cal State San Bernardino, 3-0 (West Regional Final)
 
2018 (No. 1 seed) – Bellingham, WA
Defeated Cal State East Bay, 3-0
Defeated Cal Poly Pomona, 3-0
Defeated Cal State San Bernardino, 3-2 (West Regional Final)
Defeated Tarleton State, 3-0
Defeated Lewis, 3-1
Lost to Tampa, 3-2 (NCAA Championship Match)
 
2019 (No. 2 seed) – San Bernardino, CA
Defeated Hawai'i Hilo, 3-0
Lost to Azusa Pacific, 3-2
 
2021 (No. 2 seed) – San Bernardino, CA
Defeated Simon Fraser, 3-1
Defeated Central Washington, 3-1
  Won the rubber-match of the three contests in 2021, winning at home (3-0) and in today's neutral-site match (3-1). WWU's last loss was against the Wildcats on the road in four sets on September 23. Western has now won 12 of the last 13 vs. the Wildcats dating back to the 2016 season and leads the all-time series 77-44-1. This was the first match between the Vikings and the Wildcats in the NCAA Championships, with each team advancing to the West Regional in each of the last nine seasons.
  Here is a match-by-match look at the 2021 season following the second round of the NCAA Championships:
 

Date	Opponent		Score	Score-by-set
9/3	Sonoma State	W	3-1	26-24,23-25,25-18,25-18
9/4	MSU Denver (#11)	W	3-2	25-21,24-26,18-25,30-28,15-7
9/5	Chaminade	W	3-1	25-20,22-25,25-23,25-18
9/10	vs. Wayne State (#17)	L	0-3	22-25,17-25,22-25
9/10	vs. Lewis (#5)	L	0-3	16-25,24-26,16-25
9/11	vs. Lynn (RV)	W	3-2	22-25,25-16,23-25,25-20,15-11
9/11	vs. Cal State San Bernardino (#6)	L	2-3	23-25,35-33,25-17,21-25,13-15
9/18	at Simon Fraser* (#20)	W	3-2	25-13,19-25,20-25,25-23,15-9
9/23	at Central Washington*	L	1-3	13-25,25-19,15-25,23-25
9/25	at Northwest Nazarene*	W	3-1	25-13,25-27,25-22,25-22
10/2	Alaska Fairbanks*	W	3-2	25-13,20-25,25-23,23-25,15-13
10/7	at Western Oregon*	W	3-1	25-12,23-25,25-20,25-17
10/9	at Saint Martin's*	W	3-1	25-19,25-17,21-25,25-19
10/14	Seattle Pacific*	W	3-0	25-22,27-25,25-22
10/16	Montana State Billings*	W	3-0	25-17,25-11,25-18
10/21	Northwest Nazarene*	W	3-0	25-14,25-14,25-12
10/23	Central Washington*	W	3-0	25-13,25-22,25-22
10/28	at Alaska Fairbanks*	W	3-2	23-25,27-25,25-16,21-25,15-11
10/30	at Alaska Anchorage*	W	3-0	25-22,25-23,25-19
11/4	Saint Martin's*	W	3-0	25-22,25-15,25-23
11/6	Western Oregon*	W	3-0	25-17,25-17,25-18
11/8	Alaska Anchorage*	W	3-1	25-21,23-25,28-26,25-22
11/11	at Montana State Billings*	W	3-0	25-15,25-23,25-15
11/13	at Seattle Pacific*	W	3-1	24-26,25-18,25-19,25-23
11/20	Simon Fraser*	W	3-1	20-25,25-18,25-18,26-24
12/2	Simon Fraser (NCAA)	W	3-1	25-22,23-25,25-20,25-23
12/3	Central Washington (NCAA)	W	3-1	25-21,20-25,28-26,25-15

  WWU improved to 23-4 overall after finishing the conference season with a 17-1 record in GNAC play. The Vikings are 8-2 in three-set matches, 10-1 in four-set contests and 5-1 in five sets. Here is a look at Western's record breakdown for the 2021 season:
 

2021 RECORD BREAKDOWN
Overall Record	23-4
Streak	W18
Home	12-0
Away	8-1
Neutral	3-3
GNAC Record	17-1
3-Set Matches	8-2
4-Set Matches	10-1
5-Set Matches	5-1
Ranked Opponents	2-3
Record by Jersey
Navy Blue	8-1
White	2-0
Light Blue	7-2
Dark Gray	6-1

  WWU extended its winning streak to 18 consecutive matches, tied for the 6th-longest in program history. The streak dates back to a four-set road victory over Northwest Nazarene on September 25. The Vikings were perfect during October going 9-0 and 6-0 in November. WWU has now recorded a double-digit winning streak in each of the last six "full" seasons: 17 (2019), 30 (2018), 20 (2017), 11 (2016), 16 (2015). Here is a look at the longest winning streaks in program history:
 

Rk	Streak	Year (Dates)
1.	30	2018 (Aug. 25-Nov. 30)
2.	24	2003 (Aug. 29-Nov. 15)
3.	21	2007 (Sept. 13-Nov. 15)
4.	20	2017 (Sept. 19-Dec. 1)
	20	2001 (Aug. 25-Oct. 27)
6.	18	2021 (Sept. 25-current)
	18	2002 (Sept. 14-Nov. 16)
8.	17	2019 (Sept. 5-Oct. 17)
9.	16	2015 (Sept. 5-Oct. 17)

The Vikings have now won 89 of their last 102 matches dating back to the 2018 season (89-13/.872) when the Vikings were the NCAA II national runner-up. WWU is also 116-17 dating back to the start of the 2017 season.
  Fans can follow WWU Volleyball online at WWUVikings.com/VB, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUVolleyball), Instagram (@WWUVB) and Facebook (@WWUVolleyball). All home matches feature a live webcast, as well as most road matches, with links on how to follow the games available at WWUVikings.com/Live.
  Currently in its 50th season as a varsity intercollegiate sport at WWU, the Western volleyball program has risen to elite level by advancing to the NCAA Division II Championships in each of the last nine seasons (including 2021) and 15 of the last 20 dating back to the 2001 season. The winner of 11 Great Northwest Athletic Conference, Western won the 2018 GNAC title with a perfect 20-0 record, the 2017 championship by posting a 19-1 league, became a 3-peat champion with an 18-2 mark in 2019 and clinched the 2021 title with a 17-1 record. Led by 22nd-year head coach Diane Flick-Williams (483-116/.806) the Vikings have posted a 234-46 record over the last 10 seasons (.836 winning percentage) and have played in the NCAA II West Region championship match four of the last five seasons (2015-18), winning titles in 2015 and 2018. WWU played for the NCAA II national championship in 2007 and 2018, both national runner-up finishes, and have advanced to the NCAA Final Four in two of the past five seasons (2015 and 2018).