Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!
The goal was as simple as 1, 2, 3.
Two years ago, Brigham Young-Hawaii advanced to the first round of the NCAA II West Regional, only to be swept by host Cal State San Bernardino.
Last year, the Seasiders made it to the second round. Again it was the host Coyotes who eliminated them, this time 3-1.
Saturday night, in the third round, host BYUH got the win over San Bernardino that was three years in the making.
Led by senior hitter Lauren Hagemeyer’s 16 kills and the deft setting of sophomore Michelle Chen (37 assists), the top-seeded Seasiders advanced to their first elite eight since 2002 with a 27-25, 25-18, 25-19 sweep of the third-seeded Coyotes. BYUH (24-3), with a 23-match winning over D-II teams, moves on to Pensacola, Fla., for a meeting Thursday with West Texas A&M (33-4).
"This was redemption for us," said Hagemeyer, named to the all-regional team with fellow Seasiders Chen, sophomore middle Ariel Hsu and sophomore hitter Stella Chen. "We lost to them the last two years and, yes, we were a little tired of it.
"It was our time."
The last time the Seasiders reached the elite eight, they won their 10th national championship. San Bernardino coach Kim Cherniss thinks BYUH has a legitimate chance to win an 11th.
"They are a very experienced team, and it showed tonight," Cherniss said. "I think they have the best setter in the country. She is just ridiculous with what she does out there, her decision-making is great.
"They are the real deal."
So were the Coyotes, seeking to give Cherniss her 500th career win. They controlled Set 1 until late, serving for the set at 24-22. The Seasiders held off two set points, getting a kill from Stella Chen to tie it.
Hagemeyer hit long, giving San Bernardino another shot. BYUH hung tough with Chen’s fourth kill, sparking a 3-0 run that finished the set.
"I don’t know if that would have changed things if we had won that," Cherniss said, "but you saw it carry over with our young players into that second set."
BYUH opened Set 2 with an ace and never looked back, jumping out to leads of 5-1 and 13-6. Senior hitter Tuli Tevaga put down three consecutive kills to push the margin to 19-11.
The Coyotes, four-time defending regional champions, rallied behind the serving of senior setter Camille Smith to close to 21-17. That would be about it, with freshman defensive specialist Ho‘onani Apo serving for three straight to get to set point.
San Bernardino held off one — on a kill by freshman hitter Alexandra Torline — but not a second, with the Seasiders stuffing Torline for a 2-0 lead.
The Coyotes, the 2011 national runners-up, weren’t done. They spotted the Seasiders a 5-2 lead only to come back with two aces by Torline to go ahead at 6-5.
But bolstered by a Cannon Activities Center crowd of 1,230, BYUH settled in. Down 12-9, Michelle Chen’s 6-0 serving run put the Seasiders ahead for good at 15-12. Included in that spurt was Hagemeyer putting down two kills off complicated inside slides.
Senior Courtney Skaggs’ sixth kill set up match point at 24-19. It ended on a Coyotes hitting error.
"Key for us tonight was that we stayed calm," BYUH coach Wilfred Navalta said. "I told the team that this would be tougher than (Friday’s win over Western Washington).
"We needed to stay disciplined and focus. The players were mature enough to do that, not rush the process, taking their time when they went back to serve. We beat a very good team tonight."
76