In crunch time, UAA volleyball survives and thrives — and the Seawolves head to the regional final

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UAA, celebrates their win 3-2 over Northwest Nazarene to advance to the finals of the Division II West Regional Volleyball Championships at the Alaska Airlines Center at UAA in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, December 2, 2016. (Bob Hallinen / Alaska Dispatch News)

Across more than three months, this UAA volleyball season marched along spectacularly, draped with titles and achievements, festooned with a school-record, 20-match winning streak, and yet come the fifth set Friday night, prosperity seemed to be slipping from the Seawolves' collective grasp.

They trailed Northwest Nazarene 8-4 in the decisive set before 1,796 partisans at their Alaska Airlines Center in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II West Regional.

"It's definitely a scary situation," UAA's Erin Braun reported.

Fellow senior Morgan Hooe, the setter who engineers the show, agreed it was a moment fraught with fright. But, she reasoned,  she and her crew have been in worse situations and emerged unscathed. Ah, just a flesh wound, not arterial bleeding.

"I still never lost faith," Hooe said, her voice hoarse from barking instructions to teammates over the din of the crowd for 2 hours, 21 minutes.

The Seawolves indeed escaped, and lived for another night, one deeper into the postseason than their program has ever advanced. Behind their two seniors, Hooe and Braun, and with a big helping of sophomore Leah Swiss' hammering kills, they prevailed 25-17, 22-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-10.

"They're seniors," Crusaders coach Doug English said of Hooe and Braun, who combined on one block to give UAA a 10-9 fifth-set edge and on another to end the match. "They didn't want their season to end."

They play for the regional championship Saturday at 7 p.m. at the center.

Season's end would have doubled as college career's end for both. Instead, Hooe delivered a career-high 60 assists, five blocks and five kills. Braun checked in with 12 kills and a match tying-high seven blocks, the latter mirrored by teammate Vanessa Hayes.

[Read about UAA senior Morgan Hooe and her dad, Virgil, an Alaska volleyball legend]

That Hooe and Braun came through so clutch, on the big stage, at the big moment, was testament to their quality and experience. They've been to four straight NCAA tournaments under Green, and he said perhaps that's why they did not succumb to pressure, did not "choke."

Whatever the case, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference champs, ranked No. 9 in the nation and winners of 10 consecutive matches, shed one GNAC rival for another. Saturday night, UAA plays No. 16-ranked Western Washington, which won the regional last year and Saturday advanced to the final by sweeping No. 14-ranked Cal State San Bernardino.

For what it's worth, UAA and Western Washington split their regular-season conference matches, each winning in the other's gym. The Vikings' five-set defeat of host UAA on Oct. 22 — and Western Washington won an extended fifth set, 20-18, in a match that required 2:33 — marks the most recent blemish on UAA's record.

While UAA twice beat Northwest Nazarene (21-8) in four sets in the regular season, the Crusaders were not so easily dismissed Friday, and they played loose and aggressive once they rid themselves of first-set nerves. English noted the Crusaders were underdogs, and that status was liberating.

"We have that ability to play free," he said.

Northwest Nazarene junior middle blocker Madi Farrell, who generated a team-high 15 kills and added five blocks, was about the happiest losing player you'll come across. She was bummed to lose, of course, but psyched she'll be back for another season on a team that doesn't have any seniors and won't lose any firepower. English nodded while Farrell reported that encouraging news.

"Looking back in 15 years, we're going to be proud of what we did and what we're doing," English said.

For the Seawolves, Swiss cranked off a match-high 21 kills, including six in the final set. Chrisalyn Johnson contributed 15 kills, three of them in the final set. And Diana Fa'amausili, the demonstrative freshman, rang in with 10 kills on 19 attacks for a .421 hitting percentage that topped everyone on the floor. And don't sleep on sophomore Taylor Noga's season-high 17 digs.

As for Braun, give a nod to Cal State San Bernardino coach Kim Cherniss for the senior's presence in green and gold. Braun is from San Bernardino and Cherniss was her club volleyball coach. Cherniss didn't need a middle blocker when Braun was coming out of high school, so she let Green know Braun was a player. Braun made a visit to Anchorage and signed to become a Seawolf.

After Cherniss' Coyotes were eliminated in the earlier semifinal Friday, she walked past a group of boisterous girls from Begich Middle School seated in the stands and stopped to offer some rooting advice.

"Cheer for Erin Braun, she's from our hometown," Cherniss said.

Then she lowered her voice to a stage whisper and smiled: "She's good."

Braun said she came to UAA in part because, even though she's from California, she likes cold weather.

As it happens, the winner of Saturday's regional championship between UAA and Western Washington earns a trip to the Elite Eight, held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

It gets cold there too.

Western Washington 3, Cal State San Bernardino 0

The No. 16-ranked Vikings (23-7) racked their seventh straight victory and earned the right to defend their West Region title by sweeping No. 14 Cal State San Bernardino, the program they beat in the regional final a year ago.

The Vikings' win reversed a regular-season result — the Coyotes swept the visiting Vikings in September in California.

This time around, Western Washington fairly cruised through the first two sets, winning 25-20 and 25-22. And it looked like the Vikings were going to enjoy cruise control in the third set, which they led 18-11 before the Coyotes reeled off 10 consecutive points. That stretch included three kills from Hailey Jackson and five Vikings attack errors, all of which furnished the Coyotes a 21-18 lead.

But the Vikings rebounded with two kills from Joellee Buckner and Abby Phelps, and one each from Michaela Hall and Kayleigh Harper to take a 24-23 lead. A Coyotes service error and attacking error clinched the Vikings' victory.

Phelps paced Western Washington with 12 kills, Arielle Turner added 10 and Harper eight. Lauren Nicholson delivered a match-high 17 kills for Cal State San Bernardino.

Serving proved a pivotal difference in the match. Western Washington served nine aces and committed four service errors. Cal State San Bernardino generated just one ace and committed eight serving errors.

NCAA Division II West Region Volleyball Championships

Friday's semifinals results, Alaska Airlines Center

Western Washington d. Cal State San Bernardino, 25-20, 25-22, 26-24

UAA d. Northwest Nazarene, 25-17, 22-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-10

Saturday's championship match

7 p.m. — Western Washington (23-7) vs. UAA (31-2)