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It’s no secret that the Brigham Young-Hawaii offense goes through Shih Ting "Stella" Chen. The secret is how to stop the senior All-America hitter.
Few teams have been able to do so during the past four years. Central Washington couldn’t Thursday night.
Chen had a match-high 27 kills to lead a balanced attack as the Seasiders opened postseason play with a 19-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-19 quarterfinal victory in the NCAA II volleyball tournament’s West Regional in Nampa, Idaho.
Chen, who added 17 digs and two aces, became BYUH’s all-time kill leader with her final kill that gave the Seasiders match point at 24-19. She trailed Yu Chuan Chen by 26 kills going into Wednesday’s match and has 1,789 heading into Friday’s semifinal with a familiar opponent.
Eighth-seeded Dixie State, finishing second to BYUH in the PacWest, stunned host Northwest Nazarene 25-15, 25-23, 20-25, 25-20. The Red Storm (21-8) lost both conference meetings with the Seasiders this season.
NCAA II VOLLEYBALL
At Nampa, Idaho
THURSDAY
» Brigham Young-Hawaii def. Central Washington, 19-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-19
» Dixie State def. Northwest Nazarene, 25-15, 25-23, 20-25, 25-20.
» Cal State San Bernardino def. Western Washington, 25-21, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23
» Sonoma State def. Alaska Anchorage, 26-24, 25-18, 14-25, 25-11
FRIDAY
» Cal State San Bernardino (21-6) vs. Sonoma State (21-6), 3 p.m.
» Brigham Young-Hawaii (22-5) vs. Dixie State (21-8), 4:30 p.m.
SATURDAY
» Friday’s winners, 4:30 p.m.
» Winner advances to Elite Eight, Dec. 4-6, Louisville, Ky. |