Vikings stop Tritons in 5-set regional semi
ANCHORAGE – Freshman hitter Rachel Roeder powered a balanced Western Washington attack Friday with 16 and 22 digs as the nationally 16th-ranked Vikings came back for a 16-25, 25-23, 17-25, 25-12, 15-8 victory over UC San Diego in the NCAA Div. II West Regional Championships semifinals at the Alaska Airlines Center.
The Vikings (25-5) also got 15 kills from senior Rachel Roeder as they registered a .273 attack percentage, committing only seven attack errors in 205 attempts. The Great Northwest Athletic Conference runners-up – seeded No. 2 in the regional – will move on to face the winner of No. 4 seed Cal State San Bernardino and top-seeded Alaska Anchorage in Sunday’s 4 p.m. AST championship game.
The No. 6-seeded Tritons (20-12) were led by huge performances from outside hitter Danielle Dahle and libero Amanda Colla. Dahle, a senior, had 25 kills and 14 digs in her final collegiate match, while Colla made 41 digs and dished three assists.
Freshman middle blocker Kayleigh Harper helped her team to a big advantage at the net as well, tallying seven total blocks and leading the Vikings to an 11-1 advantage in that category.
