The UAA volleyball team is getting what it wants from its first trip to the playoffs in 19 years -- a rematch with a team that handed the Seawolves one of their worst losses of the season.

Fifth-seeded UAA will face fourth-seeded Hawaii-Hilo in Thursday's first round of the NCAA Division II West Region's eight-team tournament in San Bernardino, Calif. The match begins at 4 p.m. AST.

Hilo spanked the Seawolves 25-16 25-11, 25-14 on Sept. 11 in Hawaii. It was one of only three three-set defeats for the 20-6 Seawolves.

"We got our butts kicked," UAA coach Chris Green said. "We hit negative (attack percentages) in all three sets. We didn't pass well, we didn't block well, we didn't hit well."

The loss came early in the season and triggered something in the Seawolves. They were 5-4 after the Sept. 11 loss to the Vulcans, but they won 15 of their final 17 matches, including three in Hawaii after the Hilo loss.

"It was kind of a turning point for us on the season," Green said.

Picked to finish seventh in the nine-team Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the Seawolves went on to capture the conference title and the automatic playoff berth that comes with it.

Green said his team, which is riding a school-record 12-match winning streak, is eager for another shot at Hilo (25-1), the Pacific West Conference champions.

"The girls are excited to get a chance to play them again because we did get beat so bad,'' he said.

Three of UAA's six losses came against teams that will be in San Bernardino this week -- top-seeded Cal State-Bernardino, which beat UAA in four sets; second-seeded San Diego, which beat UAA in three sets; and Hilo. The Seawolves have beaten two of the tournament teams -- eighth-seeded Seattle Pacific, which has two losses to UAA, and Cal State-LA, which fell in three sets.

UAA and Seattle Pacific are the only GNAC teams in the three-day tournament, which runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The winner will advance to the national championship tournament.

Find Beth Bragg online at adn.com/contact/bbragg or call 257-4335.

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