Seasiders advance in Division II

By George Alfano
Special to The Advertiser

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Brigham Young University-Hawai'i will get to play for the NCAA Division II women's volleyball championship, and all it took was a little bit of patience.

The Seasiders, with four players getting more than 10 kills, defeated Cal State San Bernardino, 30-19, 21-30, 30-26, 30-25, to win the Pacific Regional last night, and advance to the final eight at a site to be determined this week.

BYUH coach Wilfred Navalta sensed his team was a little anxious when it let Cal State San Bernardino (29-3) rally from a 25-19 deficit in the fourth game, to close within two at 27-25.

Navalta called time and preached patience to his squad.

"We are a young team, and at times we want to get the match over with," Navalta said. "That's when we start making mistakes."

After the timeout, middle blocker Ashley Moeai scored two points and senior captain Leiau Meatoga scored the winning point off of a kill.

"Very few teams have the opportunity to be in the regional final," Navalta said. "I wanted them to stay focused and I told them to be in the present, present, present."

Meatoga, who played for BYUH's 1999 national title team, said her younger teammates look to her for her experience.

"They ask me what it's like to play in the championships," Meatoga said. "I can see the desire in their hearts."

Coyote coach Kim Cherniss said the Seasiders (24-2) played well, and expects them to do well in the final eight, since four of the top 10 teams in Division II were in this regional.

"We probably played the eventual national champion," Cherniss said of the Seasiders.

BYUH leaders — Kills: Yu Chuan Weng, 20; Chun Li Lin 16; Ashley Moeai 11, Leiau Meatoga 10. Assists: Kaala Lo, 53. Blocks: Lin 3.