Women's Volleyball

Azusa Pacific Gets First Postseason Win; Vulcans Fall In Three

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- No. 6 seed Azusa Pacific advanced to the NCAA West Regional semifinals for the first time in program history by upsetting No. 3 seed Cal State LA in three sets on Thursday afternoon at Cal State San Bernardino. Hawai`i Hilo's season came to an end with a 3-0 loss to No. 2 seed Western Washington on the second quarterfinal, setting up a semifinal between Azusa Pacific and Western Washington on Friday at 5 p.m.

AZUSA PACIFIC 3, CAL STATE LA 0

After taking five-set losses in their first two trips to the NCAA West Regional, the Cougars got their first postseason win since joining NCAA Division II, beating Cal State LA in a rematch from the second week of the season, 25-23, 25-21, 25-15.

Azusa Pacific got 12 blocks in the win, including six block assists by PacWest Player of the Year Julianne Miller, who is the PacWest's all-time leader in blocks. Sara Wagenveld added five blocks and also had nine kills on just 13 attempts. Katarina Radisic added a team-high 10 kills in the win.

The Cougars will face Western Washington on Friday in the semifinals. The Vikins hold a 3-0 lead over Azusa Pacific in the series history with the most recent meeting coming during the D2 Volleyball Showcase in 2018. The Cougars have now won 11 matches in a row and have a 27-4 record this season.

WESTERN WASHINGTON 3, HAWAI`I HILO 0

Hawai`i Hilo finished the 2019 season with a 23-8 record after falling in the first round of the NCAA West Regional to No. 2 seed Western Washington on Thursday afternoon, 26-24, 25-15, 25-23.

The Vulcans narrowly dropped the opening set in a rematch from the D2 Volleyball Showcase in which Hawai`i Hilo pushed the Vikings to five sets. Hawai`i Hilo never led in the opening set apart from a 2-1 lead at the beginning, but Bria Beale got one of her 15 kills in the match to save the first set point to make the score 24-24 before the Vikings won the final two points to take the set.

Western Washington also won a close third set 25-23 to clinch the victory on the second match point to improve to 27-2 on the season. Beale finished with 15 kills and seven digs, while Emily Wade added eight kills on 13 attacks and three blocks.