BYU-Hawaii reaches West Region final

It was a little chilly in Cannon Activities Center on Friday night. Even Brigham Young-Hawaii coach Wilfred Navalta joked about the cold, rubbing his hands together to warm them up before his Seasiders took on Western Washington in the NCAA II West Regional volleyball tournament.

Who knew what an omen it would turn out to be. Fifth-ranked BYUH eventually found its heat in turning back No. 15 Western Washington 25-15, 23-25, 25-17, 25-18.

The Seasiders (23-3) will put their 22-matching winning streak against Division II teams on the line when they take on seventh-seeded Cal State San Bernardino in tonight’s championship. The Coyotes (24-8) outlasted second-seeded Grand Canyon 26-24, 25-21, 21-25, 25-27, 15-12 in Friday’s first semifinal.

Tonight’s winner advances to next week’s elite eight in Pensacola, Fla.

While No. 22 San Bernardino had to survive a five-setter for the second straight day, fifth-ranked BYUH had to overcome a ragged second set to win in four.

"That was a tough one," Navalta said. "What a game.

"What I told the team was that there were going to be peaks and valleys and that we needed to be steady during the valleys. We had to fight to keep the momentum. We started playing our style. We’ll see what happens tomorrow."

Tonight’s contest is a rematch of last season’s regional semifinal won by the Coyotes on their home court.

Senior hitter Lauren Hagemeyer and sophomore hitter Stella Chen each had 19 kills against Western Washington. Chen also had 18 of BYUH’s 96 digs.

Vikings senior hitter Marlayna Geary ended her career with a match-high 21 kills, adding 13 digs. Sophomore libero Samantha Hutchingson kept Western Washington’s many rallies alive with 29 digs.

The Seasiders took control in Set 1 on a 5-0 serving run by senior hitter Tuli Tevaga, with her ace helping push the lead to 12-8. Sophomore middle Ariel Hsu had five kills and three other teammates had four in a balanced offense run by sophomore setter Michelle Chen.

The Vikings (24-4) wouldn’t go down quietly. Western Washington made up a three-point deficit to tie it at 19 in Set 2.

It was knotted four more times, the last at 23, before Geary put down two consecutive kills to even the match and give the Vikings life.

Western Washington held onto the momentum early in Set 3, racing out to a 4-0 lead. But the Seasiders, who haven’t lost at home this year, kept chipping away.

At 10-10, BYUH put together a 6-1 spurt that gave the Seasiders the lead for good.

Set 4 was another battle before the Seasiders found a rhythm. At 16-14, Hsu and Stella Chen combined for six of the team’s final nine points.

Cal State San Bernardino 3, Grand Canyon 2

The four-time reigning regional champions won their 14th consecutive regional match, giving 22nd-year head coach Kim Cherniss her 499th victory after a 2-hour, 20-minute marathon

"A lot of people counted us out after we graduated seven players from last year’s team that went 32-0 before losing in the national championship," Cherniss said. "We have a very young team; only two of those players tonight were on the court for us last year.

"We didn’t have our starting lineup all back until two matches into conference. We’re starting to play the way we thought we would."

The Coyotes had all five attackers finish with double-digit kills, led by senior middle Mercedes Winchester’s 15.

San Bernardino also had five players in double-figure digs, with junior hitter Danielle Newcombe finishing with 28 to go along with 11 kills. Sophomore libero Arielle McCullough had 27.

GCU sophomore libero Mackenzie Phelps had a season-high 45 digs, giving her 661 for the year and the program’s single-season record.