(POMONA, Calif.) Trailing two-sets-to-none and 7-11 in the third set of its NCAA West Regional First Round matchup against Central Washington,
Abigail Nua pleaded to her teammates.
"We're one unit; we have to play like it," Nua said during the timeout. "This is win or go home."
Her PLNU Volleyball teammates responded.
Point Loma rallied back to complete an epic reverse sweep, as the fourth-seeded Sea Lions took down the fifth-seeded Wildcats in five sets (19-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-18, 15-13) for the program's first ever NCAA postseason victory.
With PLNU's season on the brink, CWU jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third in search of a sweep. Following Nua's impassioned speech, Point Loma scored five of the next six points out of the timeout to tie the set.
The Sea Lions' fortune continued to turn, as Nua and
Makenna Joyce both served aces off the net to give PLNU control in the fourth. The Wildcats then saved four set points before Nua's kill extended the match.
The fourth set then started exactly how you would expect in the No. 4 versus No. 5 matchup, as the teams went back and forth with 15 consecutive side-outs. No team won back-to-back points until CWU took a 9-7 advantage.
Back-to-back kills from Hara then made it 14-14 before she combined with
Anna Massari for a massive block to make it 15-14 in favor of PLNU.
Massari followed that up with a kill of her own to force a Wildcats timeout before another Hara kill and a
Kira Federico service ace prompted another CWU timeout.
Saren Rogers' block ultimately forced a deciding fifth stanza, marking only the second time this season a Point Loma match went the distance.
Nua struck first in the final set with a kill before Joyce's diving one-armed dig landed over the net to give the Sea Lions a 4-2 advantage.
Central Washington then battled back to take an 8-6 lead at the changeover, only for Nua to step up in the clutch with kills that tied the set at 10-10, 11-11, 12-12 and 13-13.
Rogers, the AVCA West Region Freshman of the Year, then sealed the historic victory with back-to-back kills of her own to send PLNU to the regional semifinals.
Baugh dished out a career-high 53 assists, while Nua (23 kills) led a group of four Sea Lions with double-digit kills that included Hara (13), Rogers (12) and Massari (10).
Joyce (17 digs) led five Sea Lions with double-digit digs, which included Nua (11), Baugh (10), Federico (10) and
Macy Reynolds (10).
Avery Allemann added four blocks at the net.
Point Loma (26-1 overall) now advances to the West Regional semifinals for the first time in program history, where PLNU will face off against either No. 1 seed Cal Poly Pomona or No. 8 seed Simon Fraser.
First serve on Friday in Pomona is scheduled for 4 p.m.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
