There’s something about this year’s team that Brigham Young-Hawaii volleyball coach Wilfred Navalta likes.
Really likes.
It hasn’t been just the winning, although the fifth-ranked Seasiders certainly had done that when racking up 20 consecutive victories against Division II opponents coming into this week’s West Regional.
What Navalta has enjoyed is the way this team has won. The mix of local, mainland and international players has been the right combination that has created a very unified squad.
It has reminded Navalta of his 2002 squad, coincidently or not, the last to win a national title. The Seasiders continued on that same path taken 10 years ago Thursday night, taking down UC San Diego 25-21, 23-25, 25-17, 25-22 at Cannon Activities Center.
Top-seeded BYUH (22-3) got 21 kills and 16 digs from sophomore hitter Stella Chen and 21 kills from senior hitter Lauren Hagemeyer in advancing to today’s 7:30 p.m. semifinal against fourth-seeded Western Washington. The Vikings (24-3) got 10 kills from sophomore hitter Kelsey Moore and 21 digs from sophomore libero Samantha Hutchinson in sweeping Sonoma State (22-9) in Thursday’s third quarterfinal.
The Tritons (20-11) were led by freshman hitter Sophie Rowe (20 kills, 16 digs) and junior libero Brittany Lombardi (23 digs).
"We really had to dig deep tonight," Navalta said, his team running its winning streak to 21 in a row against D-II opponents. "That three-week layoff showed tonight but we also showed a lot of heart, stayed focused.
"After Set 2, we told the team to think about their unity, that we were going to have to earn this. Tomorrow, we’re going to have to really raise our level against Western Washington."
The other half of the bracket saw second-seeded Grand Canyon and third-seeded Cal State San Bernardino survive five-setters to advance to today’s 5 p.m. semifinal.
Grand Canyon (24-5) turned back San Francisco State (21-9), 25-20, 16-25, 18-25, 25-23, 15-6. CSU San Bernardino (23-8) rallied past Central Washington (21-8), 25-16, 20-25, 24-26, 25-16, 15-3.
Western Washington 3, Sonoma State 0
The Vikings out-blocked the Seawolves 13-1, with junior middle Emily Boerger and sophomore middle Kayla Erickson in on six each.
Senior hitter Allyson Sather had 12 kills and sophomore hitter Kelsy Hull added 11 for Sonoma.
Grand Canyon 3, San Francisco State 2
Senior opposite Sydney McDowell was in on 10 of a season-high 21 blocks and the Antelopes used a 9-2 run to open Set 5 in turning back the Gators.
SFSU finished with a 67-45 kill advantage, riding the arms of senior opposite Megan Johnson (24 kills) and junior hitter Katie Judd (19). But the Gators only managed three total blocks against the GCU, which had seven stuffs in Set 5.
CS San Bernardino 3, Central Washington 2
Freshman hitter Alexandra Torline had a career-high 21 kills as the Coyotes eliminated the Wildcats.
It was the 13th straight regional win for the four-time defending West Region champions, who saw All-American senior setter Camille Smith surpass the 3,000-assist mark with a 61-assist performance. Senior hitter Marcy Hjellum led CWU with 17 kills and sophomore libero Keely Kight had a match-high 31 digs.
