Sophia Baugh sets for Abigail Nua.
Sophia Baugh sets for Abigail Nua.

Women's Volleyball

Sea Lions Fall to Golden Bears in NCAA Semi's

Point Loma historic run comes to a close with a 4-set loss to Concordia-St. Paul.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.—Point Loma’s run towards an NCAA title came to a close on Friday evening at the Sanford Pentagon with a four-set loss to Concordia-St. Paul.

The Sea Lions fell to the Golden Bears 25-23, 25-20, 21-25, 25-16. Concordia-St. Paul advances to Saturday’s championship, where they will be playing for their tenth NCAA title in program history. They will take a 31-5 record into a battle against either Tampa or MSU-Denver.

Point Loma made history as well with their deep run in postseason play. It was their first-ever trip to the NCAA semifinals and they were the first Pacific West Conference team to do so since 2013.

Tonight, they battled shot for shot until late in the fourth set before the Golden Bears pulled away.

The first set featured runs by both teams. The set was tied at 20-20 and 21-21 after three straight kills by Haley Clark and was tied again at 23-23 after a Kyra Miles put away. But the Golden Bears took the next two points to win 25-23. It was a highly efficient first game, with both teams hitting over .300.

Point Loma took an early lead in the second set at 7-3 and 11-7, but Concordia-St. Paul went on a 6-0 run to take a lead that they wouldn’t give up on their way to a 25-20 win.

With their backs against the wall, Point Loma led nearly the entire third set. They had just one attack error, pulling away late on three straight Jill Leslie kills with Abigail Nua finishing off the game with back-to-back kills.

The fourth set was back and forth, with neither team leading by more than two points leading up to a 9-9 score. But the Golden Bears took off from there on a 7-0 run and lengthened that streak all the way to a 25-16 final.

Nua was outstanding in her final match with 21 kills and a .321 hitting percentage. Clark added 10 kills, Saren Rogers had nine and Leslie eight. Setter Sophia Baugh had 40 assists and 15 digs and Macy Reynolds had 21 digs.

Concordia was led by Makenna Nold with 22 kills and Kaelyn Snoozy with 19. The Golden Bears, who have never lost a NCAA semifinal match, will head to the title game where they are 9-2 all-time.