The long road trip didn’t last long enough.

Fourth-ranked Brigham Young-Hawaii, on the road for the past 12 days, saw its hopes for an 11th national volleyball title swept away in just 72 minutes Saturday night. For the second consecutive year, the Seasiders had their season ended by the NCAA D-II championship machine known as Concordia-St. Paul.

Last year it was in four sets in the national semifinals in Tampa. Saturday night it was in straight sets, 25-15, 25-14, 25-20, in the national title match some 4,000 miles away in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The third-ranked Golden Bears (35-3) won their seventh consecutive championship — an NCAA record at any level of the sport — with a defense that frustrated the Seasiders at the U.S. Cellular Center. Concordia out-dug BYU-Hawaii 55-30, limiting junior All-America hitter Shih Ting "Stella" Chen to a season-low nine kills; Chen had come in averaging 5.1 kills per set, bolstered by her career-high 37 in Thursday’s five-set quarterfinal win over Ferris State.

It was the first national final appearance for the Seasiders since winning the championship in 2002. It definitely was a successful collegiate coaching debut for Mona Ah-Hoy, with a PacWest title, a 29-2 record, a 22-match winning streak, and national runner-up finish in her first year … except for one omission.

Because of an error on the part of the American Volleyball Coaches Association, none of the Seasiders players was eligible for AVCA regional and All-America honors. The AVCA had not updated its email list to reflect the change in coaches — Ah-Hoy for Wilfred Navalta — and media relations — Kenny Cox for Scott Lowe. Both Navalta and Lowe had retired.

"By the time we realized what had happened, the AVCA said there was nothing we could do,"said Ah-Hoy, a two-time All-American for the Seasiders and a big part of their NAIA championship teams of 1986 and ’87.

"They did apologize, but … it was sad for our players (at the awards banquet Wednesday). Everyone around us kept asking what had happened, why none of our players were getting awards. I told our girls to stay humble and let it go."

That frustration was matched by Saturday night’s match. The Seasiders were unable to successfully run their offense, with the Golden Bears’ defense playing a major role in that.

"We needed to be more patient," Ah-Hoy said. "They were digging everything and we got frustrated. They were quicker, touching more balls than we did.

"But I’m so proud of my girls, to make it this far, to make the final against a very experienced team. We now know what to expect."

BYU-Hawaii had no answer for Concordia’s quick attack, on the pins and in the middle. The Golden Bears hit .374, led by freshman middle Riley Hanson’s .636 with 15 kills and just one error in 22 swings.

In Set 1, BYU-Hawaii had one of its rare leads of the night at 7-6. A kill by Heather Schiller tied it at 7, sparking a 3-0 run that started Concordia’s runaway.

Set 2 was a near replay, with Schiller giving the Golden Bears a 7-6 lead. The Seasiders tied it at 7, then gave up four straight points, with Concordia rolling to a 2-0 lead.

It was deja vu in Set 3, with BYU-Hawaii again staying close at 7-6 and then giving up a 7-0 run. The Seasiders found a little momentum late with a rally that made it 23-18, but it was too late.

BYU-Hawaii loses one senior in defensive specialist Melanie Manutai. Ah-Hoy said she knows what her recruiting focus will be.

"We need to bring in some speed, some quicker athletes," said Ah-Hoy. "We have some recruits already and we’re excited for next season."

NOTE

The team is scheduled to arrive in Honolulu at 4 p.m. on Delta flight 837 from Atlanta.