The BYU-Hawaii women’s volleyball made it to the national championship game but had a heartbreaking end to their season losing to repeat champs Concordia-St. Paul in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in December. The No. 4 ranked Seasiders fell short of the NCAA Division II Championship to Concordia-St. Paul 3-0 (15-25, 14-25, 20-25). Entering into the final match, the Seasiders (29-2) had won 22 matches in a row. However, the Golden Bears of Concordia-St. Paul (35-3) proved too much to handle as they claimed their seventh consecutive division II championship. Despite the defeat, the Seasiders have a lot to be proud of after a historic season and impressive tournament run. First-year head coach Mona Ah-Hoy lead BYUH to a Pacific West Conference Championship, West Region Championship and National Championship appearance. “I am so proud of our team and all that they have accomplished this past year. We set team goals at the beginning of the season, and one of our main goals was to get back to Nationals and win! It was just amazing to watch these girls train hard and eventually find a way to get better each game,” said Ah-Hoy. For the second season in a row, Stella Chen was named a Daktronics NCAA Division II First Team All American. Chen was the only underclassman and one of only two players to repeat as a Daktronics First Team All-American. She also brought home Third Team All-American honors as a freshman. Chen led the PacWest and was second in the nation in scoring and kills average, while also earning West Region first team honors for the third year in a row. She tallied 472.5 points on 425 kills, 28 aces, four block solos, and 31 block assists during the regular season. She also was seventh in the PacWest in hitting with a .319 percentage rate and sixth in aces per set with a 0.34 mark. Michelle Chen also had a stellar season and earned Daktronics NCAA Division II Second Team All American honors. She amassed 966 assists this year, averaging 11.64 per set, which led the conference. She also was second in aces per set (0.45) after recording 37 in 83 sets. Equally impressive, was her 11.64 assists per set, that ranked 11th nationally. Chen also repeated as a second team honoree, having received the nomination in back-to-back seasons. She ranks top in the PacWest, and 11th nationally in assists per set at 11.62. The majority of the team will return for the Seasider’s next season, with just two seniors graduating, Melanie Manutai and Erica Willes, graduating.Following deep tournament runs the past two years, the Seasiders will look to break through and win the National Championship behind an experienced roster in 2014. Looking forward to next season Coach Ah-Hoy said, “We have our best days ahead of us and we are going to take it one day at a time. We are currently in our off-season training and the team is excited to get back to work and get better. I am looking forward to another great year.”
Writer: Greg Erickson ~ Multimedia Journalist
