(SIOUX Falls, S.D.) PLNU Volleyball is still dancin'.
No. 3 seed Point Loma swept No. 6 seed Bentley in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals on Thursday, winning in three sets (25-16, 25-21, 25-16) to continue the deepest postseason run in program history.
PLNU had to overcome significant deficits in sets one and two, but no such comeback was needed in set three, as the Sea Lions swept their way into the NCAA national semifinals for the first time.
Point Loma trailed 2-6 in the first set before a 7-0 run on
Kira Federico's serve gave Point Loma its first lead of the opening stanza.
Kyra Miles began the Sea Lions' scoring stretch with a kill, one of her set-leading five, as PLNU led by as many as 10 in the first set to take a 1-0 match lead.
Point Loma then faced an even larger deficit in set two, trailing 2-8, but scored the first two points out of a timeout to slowly work its way back.
Saren Rogers had three kills in a 4-0 PLNU run that tied the second stanza at 12, forcing a Bentley timeout.
Sophia Baugh continued the streak with a service ace before a pair of kills from
Abigail Nua and an ace from
Kira Federico put PLNU up 2-0 in the match.
Point Loma then rolled in set three, as the Sea Lions jumped out to a 6-1 lead and never looked back in the battle between the West and East Region champions.
Rogers led all players with 14 kills, while Miles added eight and Nua had seven.
Sophia Baugh tallied 34 assists from her setter position.
Defensively, Miles led the way with five total blocks, while
Macy Reynolds (17 digs) and
Hailey Wilson (11 digs) each recorded double-digit digs.
Point Loma (28-4 overall), ranked No. 9 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, advances to Friday's national semifinals against No. 2 seed Concordia St. Paul (30-5), the No. 6 ranked team nationally.
CSP, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and Central Region champions, are a perennial Division II powerhouse, having won nine national championships and finishing as national runner-up twice. That includes seven-straight national titles from 2007-13, with is most recent championship coming in 2017 followed by a runner-up finish in 2022.
First serve on Friday is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT / 2 p.m. PT in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
POSTMATCH PRESS CONFERENCE
