INDIANAPOLIS — Simon Fraser is returning to the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship tournament as the No. 7 seed in the West Regional, hosted by Cal State San Bernardino. SFU faces GNAC champion and No. 2 seed Western Washington Vikings in round one on Thursday, Dec. 2 at 2:30pm.
 
The NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Committee selected the 64 teams that will participate in the 2021 NCAA DII Women's Volleyball Championship. Eight teams were selected from each of the following eight regions: Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, Southeast, South Central and West.
 
Eight eight-team regionals will be played at on-campus sites. Regional competition will be single-elimination, best three-of-five-set matches and will not include a third-place match. The winners of each of the eight regionals will advance to the finals, Dec. 9-11, at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center in Tampa, Florida. The University of Tampa and the Tampa Bay Sports Commission will serve as the hosts. Competition at the final sites will be single-elimination; best three-of-five-set matches.
 
The season began with over 300 schools competing for a spot in the post-season tournament. Four teams from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference were invited to the tournament.
 
Bracket: https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/volleyball-women/d2/2021
 
SFU enters the championship tournament with a 17-8 record while the Vikings are 21-4 and riding a 16-game win streak. After securing a fourth consecutive GNAC title to receive an automatic bid to the championships, WWU will be making a ninth straight trip to the NCAA postseason.
 
Simon Fraser has played Western Washington twice this season, losing the conference opener on September 18 on Burnaby Mountain in five sets and losing the season finale in four in Carver Gym.
 
WWU leads the all-time series with SFU 70-34 dating back to when the schools played in the NAIA. The Viking are on a current nine-match winning streak against SFU and has won 21 of the last 22 matches between the two schools.
 
The first and only time SFU has been invited to the NCAA West Regional was in 2016 when the program posted a 21-8 record in head coach Gina Schmidt's fourth season. SFU lost to GNAC rival Northwest Nazarene in the opening round that year, completing the program's best season in NCAA.
 
West Region
Hosted by California State University, San Bernardino, San Bernardino, California – Dec. 2-4
 
No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino (25-3) vs. No. 8 Alaska Anchorage (19-11)
No. 2 Western Washington (21-4) vs. No. 7 Simon Fraser (17-8)
No. 3 Chaminade (27-5) vs. No. 6 Central Washington (16-8)
No. 4 Cal Poly Pomona (23-4) vs. No. 5 Cal State LA (18-9)
 
Eight No. 1 seeds:
Atlantic: Wheeling (27-5)
Central: Central Missouri (28-3)
East: American International (27-6)
Midwest: Ferris State (25-4)
South: West Florida (33-1)
Southeast: Lenoir-Rhyne (22-7)
South Central: MSU Denver (26-3)
West: Cal State San Bernardino (25-3)