Mona Ah-Hoy led Brigham Young-Hawaii to a second-place finish nationally in her first season as the Seasiders head volleyball coach.

One year older, one year wiser? For sure.

One year better? That remains to be seen.

BYU-Hawaii’s quest for its third NCAA Division II title — and first since 2002 — begins Thursday when the fifth-seeded Seasiders (21-5) face fourth-seeded Central Washington (19-7) in the West Regional’s third quarterfinal in Nampa, Idaho. Ninth-ranked BYUH, making its 11th NCAA D-II tournament appearance, comes into the quarterfinals with the Wildcats as the five-time defending PacWest champion.

"The bracket is going to be tough," Ah-Hoy, a past Seasider All-American (1989-90) and assistant coach (2009-12), said. "A lot of these teams played each other early in the year and the matches were always close. Central Washington defeated (Cal State San) Bernardino and Sonoma State, and we expect it to be a challenge."

Central Washington finished fourth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The GNAC dominated the West Regional rankings, which are used to seed the regional, sending four teams to the regional, including host and top-seeded Northwest Nazarene.

The Crusaders (24-2) face PacWest runner-up Dixie State in Thursday’s last quarterfinal. The Red Storm is the only other PacWest team in the regional; also in the field are second-seeded Alaska Anchorage (21-5), which meets seventh-seeded Sonoma State (20-6), the CCAA champion, in Thursday’s opener, and third seed Western Washington (21-6) faces six seed Cal State San Bernardino (20-6), the CCAA runner-up, in the second quarterfinal.

If BYU-Hawaii and Dixie State both win their respective quarterfinals, the teams would meet in Friday’s second semifinal. The Seasiders won both matches with the Red Storm this season, a 3-0 sweep on Oct. 16 in Laie and a 3-1 win Nov. 5 in St. George, Utah.

The Seasiders feature senior All-American hitter Shih Ting "Stella" Chen, who led the PacWest with a 5.14 kill average. First-year setter Elizabeth Blake Solaita, who played libero for Hawaii in 2011, has BYUH hitting .242.

Blake Solaita, a four-year setter at Kahuku, was asked to return to the position after Seasider All-American setter Ying Chung "Michelle" Chen took a season off due to marriage and pregnancy.

"She was so happy when I asked her to set," Ah-Hoy said. "She started slow at the beginning of the year as she was establishing a connection with our hitters, but she has really turned it on over the last month. She really stepped up into big shoes left by Michelle this year."

Ah-Hoy has been to the postseason as a player, assistant and coach. She said there’s not much difference.

"It’s all about playing one game at a time," she said. "The difference with this year’s team is we have more depth, and that is comforting.

"We know CWU is big but we just need to come out and rely on the (tournament) experience we have."

Match times will be announced Monday.