BOX SCORE #15 Western Washington 3, Sonoma State 0 (25-20, 25-18, 26-24) -- Box Score

LAIE, Hawai'i -- Ally Sather posted 12 kills and Kelsey Hull added 11 more, but the Sonoma State women's volleyball team saw its season come to an end on Thursday with a 3-0 loss to 15th-ranked Western Washington in the opening round of the 2012 NCAA Division II Volleyball Championships at the Cannon Activities Center in Laie, Hawai'i.  The Seawolves, who made their fifth straight appearance in the NCAA tournament, finish their 2012 campaign with a 22-9 overall record.  Meanwhile, the Vikings (24-3) advance to the west region semifinals and will play host and fifth-ranked BYU-Hawaii on Friday.

Sonoma was held to just .088 on offense, despite slamming more kills to the floor than Western Washington (42-34).  However, WWU recorded 13 total blocks to slow the powerful SSU arms in Thursday's sweep.

The Seawolves led early in the opening set at 11-9, but the Vikings went on a 6-1 run to take a 15-12 lead, then led by at least two points the rest of the frame to earn the first-set win at 25-20.  Western Washington took control of the second set quickly, jumping out to a 6-0 lead and Sonoma State never got closer than four points after that, falling behind 2-0 in the match with a deflating 25-18 loss in set number two.

Even though SSU jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, the third and final set was close throughout, featuring 11 ties.  The Seawolves even held a 20-18 lead, but four straight Viking points gave WWU a 22-20 lead.  A kill by Sather and another by Caylie Seitz evened the set at 22-22, but Western Washington countered with two straight points to put Sonoma State up against the wall.  A WWU attack error and a kill by Hull again evened the set at 24-24, but kills by the Vikings' Kayla Erickson and Marlayna Geary ended SSU's season with the 26-24 loss in the third frame.

Sather ends an explosive four-year career at Sonoma State, amassing for a program-record 1,510 kills throughout 119 matches played in the Seawolf blue.  Her 12 kills on Thursday evening led all players, followed by the aforementioned 11 from Hull.  Madelyn Densberger chipped in with eight kills and Brooke Moore, who also sees her career come to an end, had five kills.  Defensively, Nicole Gragnola recorded 17 digs and Densberger added 14 for her seventh double-double of the season. 

For Western Washington, Kelsey Moore was the only Viking with double-digit kills (10) as Erickson and Emily Boerger tied for the second-most kills on the team with six -- WWU hit .175 as a team.  Samantha Hutchinson led all defenders with 21 digs.