Box Score

SAN DIEGO - It might not have come as easy as the Sea Lions had hoped but in the end the results is just the same; the Point Loma volleyball team are your 2013 National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) West Region Champions.

PLNU (24-7, 16-4 PacWest) edged Azusa Pacific in five sets on Friday night (Nov. 22), 25-18, 25-17, 24-26, 19-25 and 15-9 to take the season series from their longtime rival. Point Loma will now advance to the NCCAA National Championships on Dec. 5-7 in Kissimmee, FL.

Alyssa Dwyer would not let the Sea Lions be denied the opportunity to advance to the postseason for the first time since 2011. The junior slammed down an impressive 23 kills and hit .489 out of her middle blocker position to lead all scorers.

Heather Leavitt and Kelli LeClair would both add double-doubles in the victory. Leavitt had 17 kills to go along with 15 digs, and LeClair had 12 kills and 14 digs.  Savannah Wedemeyer dished out 63 assists for PLNU.

Mattie Shelford led three Cougars (21-10, 13-7 PacWest) in double-figures with 14 kills.

The Sea Lions came out on fire. They executed extremely well en route to dominating the first two sets 25-18 and 25-17. The match looked to be heading towards a sweep in the Sea Lions' favor as they lead 24-22 in the third set, but APU rallied to take the next four points and the set 26-24. Azusa would also close out the fourth set with a 7-1 run after the set was tied at 18-18 to push the match to a decisive fifth set.

In the final set the teams exchanged points until it was tied at 9-9. Then, on the coat tails of Kelsey Barker's serve, the Sea Lions scored six straight points, thanks to three APU errors and kills by Leavitt and Dwyer, to win the set and earn their first NCCAA West Regional Championship.

"We were confident going in," said PLNU head coach Sarah Gustin. "We know all the weapons we have, but we know that we need to execute to be successful.

"We got a little overconfident in the third set and they carried that momentum into the fourth set," Gustin continued, "but I am glad we found out a way to eke out a win in set five and come away with the regional championship."

This was the 14th win of the season for Point Loma at Golden Gymnasium, as they completed the year 14-2 on its home court. The 24 wins for PLNU is also its most since 2003 when it went 29-7. They also completed PacWest play in sole possession of second place at 16-4.

"We set really high goals for ourselves this season," said Gustin. "One was to finish in the top 3 in the PacWest and the other was to win an NCCAA Championship. This win was the first step towards that goal and now we just have to start preparing mentally to play six matches in three days, and hopefully come away with that second goal."

Coach Gustin was very impressed with the performance of Dwyer in the match and the way she helped the Sea Lions achieve a successful season.

"All season long Alyssa has been a key," "We she plays well in all likelihood we are going to walk away with a win. We knew we had to get her going early and she was very focused today on helping us reach those goals."

Coach Gustin also was very appreciative of the Sea Lions' fan and their role in the win tonight.

"We had our biggest crowd of the season and it definitely made the difference for us in the win."

The Point Loma volleyball team will start the NCCAA Championships on Dec. 5-6 with pool play. The four teams that qualify to move on from pool play will advance to play in the semifinal and NCCAA Championship match on Saturday, Dec. 7.