Vikings kick off NCAA tournament with strong showing

By Andrew McClain The Western women’s volleyball team delighted a home crowd with a big first-round win in the NCAA Division II Championship Tournament hosted in Sam Carver Gymnasium on Thursday night, Nov. 15. The Vikings looked strong as they managed to sweep a scrappy California State East Bay University Pioneers team on their home court, advancing them to the next round of the playoffs.

While the game was tightly contested throughout, the Vikings showcased the kind of resilience that they’ve relied on all season long to make it to this point. The Vikings managed to come back from deficits to win in their first two sets, including a nine-point rally in the second set that had fans in Carver Gym rocking. The third set displayed the Vikings’ dominance. They only allowed the Pioneers to lead once, early in the set, before taking over the game to win with a final score of 25-21. This win sets the Vikings up for another showdown at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night, Nov. 16 in Carver Gym. The game will be against the California State Polytechnic University Pomona Broncos, who bested the Azusa Pacific University Cougars 3-2 earlier in the tournament. [gallery columns="2" ids="28251,28248,28249,28252,28253,28250,28255,28256"]

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