AZUSA, Calif. – In a rematch of two of the last three West Regional finals, the Western Washington University volleyball team came from behind to rally for a 3-2 victory over Cal State San Bernardino Thursday afternoon in the 2018 D2 West Region Volleyball Classic.
The No. 15-ranked Vikings overcame a 2-1 deficit, winning the fourth and fifth sets in dominating fashion for the 22-25, 25-22, 17-25, 25-17, 15-11 victory in the Felix Event Center on the Azusa Pacific University campus. WWU improved to 2-3 on the season while playing its fifth consecutive match vs. a ranked opponent, while CSUSB suffered its first defeat of the season to fall to 4-1.
“That was a gritty match by both teams,” said 19th-year head coach Diane Flick-Williams, who is now four wins shy of 400 for her WWU career. “It’s always a battle with San Bernardino and I’m happy with how we got better throughout the match.”
Junior middle Kayleigh Harper (Oak Harbor, WA) led the way for the Vikings with an 18-kill, 12-block effort to record a match-high 26.0 points. Senior outside hitter Abby Phelps (Manson, WA/Chelan) added a 21-kill, 25-dig double-double.
“Kayleigh was outstanding this match. She not only was aggressive at the net, she was smart too,” added Flick-Williams. “And her blocking really created some opportunities for us.”
The Vikings led the Coyotes in several statistical categories, including a dominating 18-8 advantage in blocks and an 8-3 margin in service aces. Sophomore outside hitter Alison Davenport (Auburn, WA/Auburn Riverside) led the way with 3 aces, while senior setter Brette Boesel (Brewster, WA) and junior defensive specialist Mae Thungc (Kent, WA/Kentwood) both had a pair of aces.
Boesel paced the offense with 53 assists and set a career high with 7 blocks. Senior libero Aubrey Stephens (Colville, WA) added 24 digs for her second consecutive match with 20+ digs.
The Coyotes were led by a match-high 22 kills from sophomore outside hitter Alexis Cardoza, who also totaled 21 digs for the double-double. Junior Sascha Dominique added 16 kills on a .433 hitting percentage. CSUSB recorded 96 digs in the match, led by 22 from libero Leilia To’omalatai. Senior setter Jayann DeHoog led all players with 62 assists.
The Vikings dropped the opening set 25-22, despite going on an early 11-4 run to build a 5-point lead at 11-6. The Coyotes called a timeout and responded with a 5-0 run to tie the set at 11-11. After ties at 12-12, 13-13 and 14-14, WWU took a 15-14 lead. CSUSB answered going on a 6-1 run to build a 20-16 lead, and then held off a late rally by the Vikings to go up 1-0. Harper, Davenport and Phelps each tallied 4 kills to lead the Vikings.
WWU evened things up at 1-1 in the match with a 25-22 second-set victory. Harper led Western with 5 kills and 5 blocks (3 solo) in the set, lifting the Vikings during a late set surge. WWU trailed early 7-4, but battled back take an 8-7 lead going on a 4-0 run. Leading 18-17, the Vikings went on a 4-1 run to go up 22-18, and then held off a late CSUSB run to take the set 25-22.
San Bernardino took the third set 25-17 to go up 2-1, using a 5-0 run to pull away from a 7-7 tie. The Coyotes extended the run to 14-4 to build an 21-11 lead, and after a 6-2 WWU run, closed out the 25-17 victory. Phelps recorded 5 kills and 5 digs in the set, while the Coyotes were paced by 7 kills from Dominique.
Western jumped out to an early 6-0 lead in the fourth set, and never looked back earning the 25-17 win to force the deciding fifth set. After the 6-0 run, WWU used a 10-3 run to grow its lead to 21-12, and then closed out the set with the 8-point victory. Phelps led the charge with 7 kills and 9 digs, while Harper added 5 kills and 4 blocks.
The deciding fifth set was back-and-forth in the early going, featuring five ties, before the Vikings took a 6-5 lead and would not trail the remainder of the set. A 4-0 run turned a 5-4 deficit into an 8-5 lead for WWU. CSUSB pulled to within one point twice at 9-8 and 10-9, but the Vikings closed out the victory going on a 5-2 run to end the match. Phelps and Harper each had 3 kills in the fifth set, while senior middle Michaela Hall (Centralia, WA) tallied 2 of her 5 kills.
