(COSTA MESA, Calif.) No. 1 seed PLNU Volleyball lost in the PacWest semifinals to No. 4 seed Hawai'i Hilo (21-25, 24-26, 21-25) on Saturday night in Costa Mesa and will now set its sights on an NCAA at-large berth.
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Point Loma, the PacWest regular season champions for the third time in four years and ranked No. 16 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll, went on a 6-0 run in the opening stanza to take an early lead. However, the Vulcans battled back with a 7-0 stretch to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
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The Sea Lions then led 23-19 in set two and later earned set point at 24-23 after
Ila Rose's kill, but UHH won the final three points of the stanza to put PLNU in a 2-0 hole.
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Hilo, receiving votes in the national rankings, carried that momentum into set three, leading 6-1 and then 11-4. Point Loma showed fight to get back to within one on multiple occasions but wasn't able to overcome its early third-set deficit.
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Saren Rogers led the team with 11 kills, while Rose had 10.
Sophia Baugh dished out 30 assists and had a double-double with her 14 digs.
Kaitlyn Cabral paced PLNU with 16 digs while
Kyra Miles had five blocks.
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Point Loma (21-6 overall) now awaits its seeding in the NCAA West Regional, with the field set to be announced on Sunday at 7 p.m.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
