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Seventh-Seeded Wildcats To Face Western Washington In Elite Eight

12/5/2021 3:35:00 PM

By: CONTACT: Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for Communications/Operations | 716-839-8385 | mmiranto@daemen.edu
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Daemen has been awarded the No. 7 seed in the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship Elite Eight and will face second-seeded Western Washington in the national quarterfinals at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, December 9 at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center on the campus of the University of Tampa (Fla.). The NCAA revealed the Elite Eight seeds and bracket this afternoon following the conclusion of the eight regional championships across the country last evening. 

Daemen advanced to the Elite Eight by claiming the East Regional title with a 3-1 victory over American International. The Wildcats snapped AIC's 22-match winning streak and avenged their 2016 regional finals loss to the Yellow Jackets. Daemen, which has also won the East Coast Conference regular season and tournament championships this season, heads to the Elite Eight as winners in 12 straight and 21 of their last 23 matches. At 25-7 overall, the Wildcats have reached the 25-win plateau for the 10th time in program history and for the first time since 2016. 

Their reward is a meeting the West Region champion Western Washington Vikings who entered the NCAA tournament ranked No. 13 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Top-25 Poll. The Vikings, seeded second in the West Regional, needed only three sets to dispatch of fifth-seeded Cal State Los Angeles yesterday to advance to the Elite Eight for the fourth time in program history. WWU will enter Thursday's match with a 24-4 overall record. 

Thursday's additional national quarterfinal matches include No. 3 Washburn (29-5) vs. No. 6 West Texas A&M (26-4) at 12 p.m., No. 4 Hillsdale (30-4) vs. No. 5 Gannon (31-6) at 5 p.m. and No. 1 Tampa (31-2) vs. No. 8 Augusta (25-8) at 7:30 p.m. The national semifinals will be held Friday, December 10 at 5 and 7:30 p.m. The national championship match gets underway at 5 p.m. on Saturday, December 11.

A full match preview will be available at daemenwildcats.com in the coming days. For more Elite Eight information, please visit DIIVolleyball.com. 

Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 18 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.

Follow the Daemen College women's volleyball program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenWVB.

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