VOLLEYBALL
BYUH to play Alaska Anchorage in NCAA Division II regional
Fourth in the national coaches poll. Second in the West Region volleyball rankings a week earlier with the No. 1 team losing. PacWest champion with just one loss.
It seemed that all of that might have added up to Brigham Young-Hawaii hosting the NCAA Division II West Region for the second year in a row. Instead, it had first-year coach Mona Afalava Ah-Hoy busy on the computer, making reservations for next week’s trip to San Bernardino, Calif.
It’s a familiar trek for BYU-Hawaii (24-1), which has been sent to a regional hosted by Cal State San Bernardino for two of the past five years. It also will be a familiar opponent for the second-seeded Seasiders, who face sixth-seeded Alaska Anchorage (21-9) in the first round on Dec. 5.
In the Aug. 29 season opener at Cannon Activities Center, the Seasiders swept the Seawolves 25-22, 25-17, 25-18.
Even though it lasted just 70 minutes, "They gave us a pretty good match," Afalava Ah-Hoy said. "We were still trying to figure out our lineup then and we’re totally different now.
"I think our defense is better, our serve-receive is better. Our girls will be ready."
They’ll have to do it on the road for two weeks if the Seasiders want to return with their first national title since 2002. BYU-Hawaii advanced to the national semifinals last season, losing to eventual champion Concordia-St. Paul in Tampa, Fla.
This year’s elite eight is in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Dec. 12-14.
Cal State San Bernardino, which lost to BYU-Hawaii in last year’s regional final, is hosting the regional for the seventh time in eight years. The Coyotes leapfrogged UC San Diego and BYU-Hawaii, ranked 1-2 in last week’s regional rankings, after outlasting UCSD 3-2 Wednesday in a match that determined the California Collegiate Athletic Association title.
It came as a bit of a surprise to the Seasiders, who had gathered to watch Monday’s selection show.
"We were hoping to have the homecourt advantage," Afalava Ah-Hoy said. "But as I told the players, we can only control what we can control, and we had no control over where we’re playing or who we play.
"But it’s OK. Our players seem to be a little more focused when they’re on the road. We just have to be ready."
The Seasiders have won their past 17 matches. Their only loss came in PacWest play on Sept. 26, when they fell to Hawaii Pacific in five at St. Andrew’s Priory gym.
Joining BYU-Hawaii in the regional is PacWest runner-up Dixie State (17-9). The Red Storm, seeded sixth, open regional play against third-seeded UC San Diego (25-5).
Because of a conflict with fall commencement in the Coussoulis Arena (5,000 seats), the entire regional will be played in the Physical Education Building known as "The Den" (1,200).
SOCCER
Davis to coach both Seasiders teams
Brigham Young-Hawaii men’s soccer coach Mark Davis has been named the Seasiders women’s coach and will oversee both teams.
Davis graduated in 2011 from BYUH, where he played for the Seasiders for one season. He joined the men’s staff as co-head coach in 2012, before taking over the program this past season.
The Seasiders men finished 9-3-4 overall, tying the program record for most wins, and were 7-2-3 in the conference. Davis was named co-coach of the year in the PacWest last week.
The Seasiders women were 9-4-2, winning their last eight matches.
