Play one point at a time.

It’s what Mona Ah-Hoy has told her players all season. But the first-year Brigham Young-Hawaii coach wasn’t expecting that advice to show up on the other side of the U.S. Cellular Center court in Thursday’s NCAA Division II Women’s Volleyball Championship quarterfinal against Ferris State.

The Seasiders survived a fifth-set meltdown where they couldn’t convent on eight match-point attempts and needed a career-high 37 kills from junior All-American Shih Ting "Stella" Chen to turn back the Bulldogs 21-25, 32-30, 25-19, 25-27, 16-14 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. BYU-Hawaii (28-1) takes a 21-match winning streak into today’s semifinal against West Texas A&M at 1 p.m.

The Lady Buffs (35-3) swept LIU-Post 25-22, 25-17, 25-15 in Thursday’s first quarterfinal to win their 29th straight. It will be the seventh semifinal appearance for West Texas A&M, which won three national titles between 1991 and 1997.

For the Seasiders, it will be their second consecutive semifinal appearance. Last season, BYU-Hawaii was swept by eventual national champion Concordia-St. Paul.

"We’re relieved to get that first match out of the way and excited to be in the top four," Ah-Hoy said after the 2-hour, 17-minute match.

"We know that West Texas is similar to Ferris and we’ll have to be on our toes again."

Chen finished with a double-double when adding 22 digs, as did junior setter Ying Chun "Michelle" Chen (65 assists and 11 digs). Junior middle Erh Fang "Ariel" Hsu had 15 kills, freshman hitter Noel Pauga 10 and junior libero Bry Tatupu-Leopoldo had 22 of the team’s 95 digs.

Courtney Rehn finished with 18 kills, one of five Bulldogs in double-figure kills. Brandie Merren had a match-high 25 digs.

BYU-Hawaii had a 14-6 lead in Set 5 only to see Ferris State take advantage of a mismatch in the front row — setter Chen in the front row, hitter Chen in the back — to hold off eight match points and tie it at 14. Alexis Huntley’s hitting error gave the Seasiders their ninth match point, with Chen finally ending it with her 37th kill.

"We came out strong in the beginning but when I called a timeout (at 14-9), I told my players that it looked like Ferris wanted it more," Ah-Hoy said. "They said, ‘no, no, no, not true.’

"So I told them to step it up and play like we can, just relax and play one point at a time. I think they were just too anxious."

Ah-Hoy credited libero Tatupu-Leopoldo with helping settle down the team.

"She struggled early but she’s such an amazing athlete, she’s able to bounce out of things," Ah-Hoy said. "It’s been a big risk using her at libero because she’s our backup setter."

It was just the third five-set match of the season for the Seasiders. Their last loss was in five at Hawaii Pacific on Sept. 26, and they defeated host Cal State San Bernardino last Saturday 3-2 for the West Regional title.