TAMPA, Fla. – The Western Washington University volleyball team took care of business in its national quarterfinal match, sweeping Daemen College in straight sets 3-0 Thursday afternoon in the Bob Martinez Athletics Center.
 
WWU won its 20th consecutive match to improve to 25-4 overall with the 25-12, 25-16, 25-19 victory over Daemen (Amherst, NY). The Vikings improved to 4-0 all-time in national quarterfinal matches and will face No. 3 seed and No. 6 nationally-ranked Washburn in Friday's first semifinal match at 5 pm ET/2 pm PT.
 
The Vikings hit a season-high .435 for the match (43 kills-6 errors-85 attacks), the highest percentage in a match by a GNAC team during the 2021 season and the 6th-best by a Viking squad during the rally-scoring era (since 2001). In addition to the high hitting percentage, the Vikings out-blocked Daemen 8.0-to-1.0 and recorded six service aces
 
Sophomore outside Calley Heilborn led Western with 13 kills on a .550 hitting percentage, and totaled a match-high 15.0 points with a service ace and a pair of block assists. She also had eight digs.
 
Junior First Team All-American Gabby Gunterman added eight kills (.538), 12 digs and four total blocks for 10.5 points. Junior middle Olivia Fairchild contributed seven kills and a pair of blocks as well.
 
Sophomore setter Malia Aleaga was a key to the Vikings stellar hitting percentage with 28 assists and added a season-high-tying four kills. Sophomore serve and defensive specialist Tupu Lologo tallied a pair of service aces and was a key to several long scoring runs on the service line.
 
"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 WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams (22nd season, 485-116/.807). "We hit for a pretty incredible number (.435) and I thought we controlled the ball well. Our setter (Malia Aleaga) distributed the ball really well. Really glad how we started. I still think we are going to have another notch we are going to need for tomorrow night, so we'll have to get our hard hats on and get ready for business."
 
The match featured nine tie scores and three lead changes, primarily in the early part of each set.
 
Daemen, the East Region Champion, finished the season with a 25-8 record and made its first trip to the Elite Eight. James Madison transfer and honorable mention All-American Caitlyn Meyer led the Wildcats with eight kills and seven digs and senior outside hitter Sam Logan had seven kills and seven digs. SET 1 (WWU 25, Daemen 12): The two teams exchanged points early in the first set, but the Vikings went on a 7-0 run to gain control and went on to a dominating 25-12 victory to go up 1-0. WWU extended the run to 14-3 to extend the lead to 16-6 and never looked back. Western hit .478 in the opening set (13 kills, 2 errors, 23 attacks) and recorded three service aces. The balanced offensive attack featured four kills from Olivia Fairchild, three each from outside hitters Calley Heilborn and Gabby Gunterman, and two from Tess Biscup. Gunterman also had a pair of blocks as WWU limited the Wildcats to a -.045 hitting percentage.
 
SET 2 (WWU 25, Daemen 16): WWU trailed 13-10, but went on a 5-2 run to tie the set 15-15, and then scored 10 of the final 11 points for a 25-16 win to go up 2-0 in the match. After trailing by three points midway through the set, the Vikings answered with the 15-3 run including an 8-0 run to finish the set victory. WWU hit .370 in the set and was led by four kills from Calley Heilborn and three by Malia Aleaga.
 
SET 3 (WWU 25, Daemen 19): The Vikings pulled away early building a 15-9 lead by going on a 5-1 run. Daemen kept close and pulled to within two points at 20-18 going on a 4-0 run. After a WWU timeout, the Vikings went on a 5-1 run to finish the set 25-19 for the 3-0 sweep. Calley Heilborn led the Vikings with six of her match-high 13 kills, hitting .625 in the set. The No. 2 seed Vikings (25-4) will face No. 3 Washburn (30-5) in the national semifinal with first serve scheduled for 5 pm ET/2 pm PT Friday in Tampa. The Ichabods were a 3-1 winner (25-22, 25-19, 21-25, 25-21) over No. 6 seed West Texas A&M. The contest between the Vikings and Ichabods is a rematch of the 2007 national semifinal won 3-1 by WWU in Washburn's home venue in Topeka, Kansas. The match will feature a live and free webcast at NCAA.com, with direct links available at wwuvikings.com/Live.

No. 5 Gannon (3-1 winner over No. 4 Hillsdale) will face No. 1 Tampa (3-1 winner over No. 8 Augusta) in the second semifinal scheduled to start at 7:30 pm ET/4:30 pm PT. The national championship is Saturday (Dec. 11) at 5:00 pm ET/2:00 pm PT with a live webcast available on NCAA.com. Kills – Heilborn (13), Gunterman (8), Fairchild (7)
Aces – Lologo (2), Roetcisoender (1), Woodruff (1)
Blocks – Gunterman (4), Roetcisoender (3), Biscup (3)
Assists – Aleaga (28), Lologo (2), Fairchild (1)
Digs – Gunterman (12), Heilborn (8), Woodruff (5)
Points – Heilborn (15.0), Gunterman (10.5), Fairchild (8.0), Roetcisoender (7.5), Biscup (7.5)
  The Vikings improved to 26-14 all-time in 15 trips to the NCAA Division II Championships. WWU is making its ninth consecutive trip to the NCAA postseason and its fourth appearance in the national championship tournament (Elite Eight (2007, 2015, 2018, 2021). Western is now a perfect 4-0 in national quarterfinal matches. 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. Here is a match-by-match look at how the Vikings have fared in 15 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 Los Angeles, 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)
NCAA National Championships (Topeka, KS)
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)
NCAA National Championships (Tampa, FL)
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)
NCAA National Championships (Pittsburgh, PA)
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
Defeated Cal State Los Angeles, 3-0 (West Regional Final)
NCAA National Championships (Tampa, FL)
Defeated Daemen, 3-0 (National Quarterfinal) Here is a match-by-match look at the 2021 season following the National Quarterfinal 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
12/4	Cal State LA (NCAA)	W	3-0	25-23,29-27,25-15
12/9	Daemen (NCAA – Quarterfinal)	W	3-0	25-12,25-16,25-19

WWU improved to 25-4 overall after finishing the conference season with a 17-1 record in GNAC play to win a fourth consecutive conference title. The Vikings are 10-2 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	25-4
Streak	W20
Home	12-0
Away	8-1
Neutral	5-3
GNAC Record	17-1
3-Set Matches	10-2
4-Set Matches	10-1
5-Set Matches	5-1
Ranked Opponents	2-3
RECORD BY JERSEY
Navy Blue	9-1
White	2-0
Light Blue	7-2
Dark Gray	7-1

WWU extended its winning streak to 20 consecutive matches, tied for the 4th-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	2021 (Sept. 25-current)
	20	2017 (Sept. 19-Dec. 1)
	20	2001 (Aug. 25-Oct. 27)
7.	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 91 of their last 104 matches dating back to the 2018 season (91-13/.875) when the Vikings were the NCAA II national runner-up. WWU is also 118-17 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 (485-116/.807) the Vikings have posted a 236-46 record over the last 10 seasons (.837 winning percentage) and have played in the NCAA II West Region championship match five out of the last six seasons (2015-21), winning titles in 2015, 2018 and 2021 (also 2007). 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 three of the past six seasons (2015, 2018, 2021).