Elite again.

Brigham Young-Hawaii rode the arm of junior All-American Shih Ting "Stella" Chen for 23 kills and used tough serving to rally past host Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday night in the NCAA Division II Volleyball West Regional final at the Coyote Den.

Chen added 16 digs and sophomore hitter Lacy Miyahira had four of the team’s 10 aces in the 25-15, 17-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-10 victory that sends the Seasiders (27-1) to the elite eight for the second straight year. BYUH will face Ferris State (25-8), the Midwest Regional champion, in Thursday’s quarterfinals in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

It also was the second straight year that the Seasiders and Coyotes (27-6) met in the regional final. BYUH won last year’s contest in four sets at Cannon Activities Center. Junior middle Tori May had 22 kills and sophomore middle Brenna McIntosh added 15 for San Bernardino, which saw its winning streak snapped at 11.

The Coyotes had advanced to the regional final the past 14 seasons, winning four in a row when hosting from 2008 to 2011.

Junior middle Erh Fang "Ariel" Hsu added 12 kills and freshman hitter Noel Pauga 10 as BYUH won its 20th in a row. Junior setter Ying Chun "Michelle" Chen finished with 50 assists, one off her season best.

In the critical Set 4, the Coyotes were five points away from winning the match. Two kills by Alexandra Torline put the Coyotes ahead at 20-19, what would be their last lead.

Following a BYUH timeout, the Seasiders took control with a 3-0 run. Using a kill by Stella Chen, an ace by junior Bry Tatupu-Leopoldo and a block of Torline by Chen and Pauga.

The teams traded service errors, with San Bernardino’s the most costly, giving BYUH match point at 24-22. May’s hitting error ended it, sending it to a fifth set.

The only other time this season the Seasiders had gone five with an opponent it resulted in a road loss. That was Sept. 26 to Hawaii Pacific at St. Andrew’s Priory gym.

It would not happen again. The Seasiders broke out to early leads of 5-2 and 6-3 in Set 5. The Coyotes responded, pulling to within 7-6.

A kill by Miyahira sparked a 3-0 run that put BYUH up at 10-6. San Bernadino wasn’t done. The Coyotes stuffed Hsu and then Michelle Chen on consecutive plays, closing to 11-9.

First-year coach Mona Ah-Hoy called perhaps her most effective timeout of the season. Two kills by Chen and Tatupu-Leopoldo’s second ace gave the Seasiders match point at 14-9.

Torline’s kill staved off the inevitable for one play, with a hitting error by Danielle Newcombe giving BYUH the victory.

The Seasiders finished with 71 digs. Also in double digits were Tatupu-Leopoldo (20), Kathleen Collette (12) and Michelle Chen (12).

Arielle McCullough finished with a match-high 23 digs for the Coyotes, who outblocked the Seasiders 10-6.