The lethargy felt by Brigham Young-Hawaii during Wednesday’s volleyball practice at the West Florida Field House in Pensacola, Fla., didn’t make a return trip when the Seasiders came back for their NCAA II elite eight quarterfinal match against West Texas A&M on Thursday.
Jet lag and jitters behind them, the fifth-ranked Seasiders swept the ninth-ranked Lady Buffs 25-22, 25-16, 25-14 in 80 minutes. Sophomore All-American setter Michelle Chen orchestrated a balanced attack that had BYUH hitting .302 with three players in double-figure kills.
Sophomore All-American middle Stella Chen put down 20 kills while hitting .389 and added 19 of the team’s digs. Senior hitter Lauren Hagemeyer finished with 11 kills and senior hitter Tuli Peters Tevaga added 10.
The Seasiders (25-3), advancing to their first national semifinal since 2002, will face five-time defending champion Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.). The Golden Bears (31-4) turned back Wingate (N.C.) 22-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-18 in another quarterfinal.
BYUH was swept by Concordia in St. Paul back on Aug. 31. The Seasiders lost the following day to Southwest Minnesota State in four but — expect for a loss to Division I Hawaii — haven’t lost since.
"It’s going to be a battle tomorrow," BYUH coach Wilfred Navalta said. "Concordia looked very tough today. They have a nice setter and they are the five-time defending champions. They have a lot of experience.
"For us, we have to match their offense and defense. We have to elevate our game. I think the team that is the calmest will prevail."
Navalta said he was thankful the team left Hawaii Sunday night after winning the west regional Saturday instead of waiting until Monday.
"That extra day of being here made a difference," he said. "We had a terrible practice (Wednesday) and, if we had played that way today, we would have been in trouble.
"Today, we had a nice, balanced attack and the gals played well all the way around. I think our ball control has improved since the beginning of the season and we were still moving players around when we played Concordia earlier. We’ve changed our personnel since then and I think it will help us neutralize some of the weaknesses that we experienced up at their place. It’s going to be a great match."
West Texas A&M coach Jason Skoch was impressed by the Seasiders.
"Regardless of what I thought about my team, their team is amazing," he said. "On tape, they don’t look like much of a ball-control team, but they really are. They are the complete package."
BYUH’s quick offense kept West Texas A&M off-balance most of the match, with Michelle Chen able to utilize all five attackers. Besides the three in double figures, sophomore middle Ariel Hsu had eight kills.
The biggest edge, however, was the Seasider defense. They out-dug the Lady Buffs 55-37, and won the blocking battle 11-8.
"Most of the time, we expect the ball to be down," West Texas sophomore hitter Kameryn Hayes said. "They kept getting (the ball) up. Normally that’s us."
"This season, Coach Navalta really pushed us to be able to run that faster offense, getting us into snape and getting us ready for opportunities like this," Tevaga said. "Part of the success is us trusting him as a coach that this was going to be successful."
