SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – In 2022, the Chaminade University women's volleyball team was the No. 8 and lowest seed in the NCAA West Regional and was faced with the monumental task of having to pull off three upsets to get out of the region.
They managed to accomplish two, including an upset over top-seeded Alaska Anchorage in the opening round, the only 8-over-1 seed in the entire NCAA field, before falling one match short of winning the West Region. However, despite being the first No. 8 to reach the West Regional final since 2014, falling short of an "Elite Eight" appearance was a bitter pill to take.
Fast forward one year and the Silverswords now have the mantle of being the region's top seed for the first time in program history and are now looking to finish the mission they set out to accomplish when the season began in August. The 'Swords, who earned an at-large berth after finishing as the conference runners-up, will face eighth-seeded San Francisco State in Thursday's second quarterfinal match at 12:30 p.m. Hawai'i time in San Bernardino, California, with the regional being hosted by No. 2 seed Cal State San Bernardino. The match will be available on a pay-per-view basis.
The Silverswords, who are making their record third straight trip to the regionals, earned the No. 1 seed, thanks in part to a beefed up non-conference slate. Among their opponents – all of whom Chaminade defeated – included defending California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) tournament champion Cal Poly Pomona, Thursday's first-round opponent SFSU and American International, which qualified for the East Regional. The 'Swords also defeated Simon Fraser, Cal State East Bay and Sonoma State, all of whom were in the West Region rankings up to the final week.
However, in order for the 'Swords to reach their goal of their first West Region title, they must first conquer the tricks of CSU San Bernardino's Coussoulis Arena, a building in which they have never won in two chances, coming in the regionals in 2002 and 2021.
While San Francisco State is the lowest-seeded squad in the field, the Gators have taken the Silverswords to the limit in the past two meetings. This past September at the Cal Poly Pomona/Azusa Pacific Crossover in Pomona, California, the Silverswords hung on for dear life after the Gators rallied from a 0-2 deficit before Chaminade pulled it out in the fifth set. And at the Magic Island Hawai'i Classic at the Hawai'i Convention Center in August 2022, the 'Swords also defeated the Gators in five sets.
If anyone knows about an eight seed beating a one, the 'Swords know, having worn that shoe last December in the upset over Anchorage. Chaminade will be on-guard to avoid having the feat happen for a second straight year.
Thursday's winner will face the victor of the day's first match between No. 4-seeded Cal State Los Angeles and No. 5 seed Seattle Pacific. The regional championship will be on Saturday with the winner advancing to the NCAA Championships in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, located just outside of Pittsburgh. The championships begin Dec. 7.
All matches of the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Tournament will be available to watch on a
PAY-PER-VIEW basis through the NCAA's partnership through Hudl, a live streaming video provider for several Division II conferences and institutions across the country including several members of the PacWest. The cost is $9.95 for single matches and $29.95 for the entire Division II tournament. Fans who have already created an account with Hudl can log into their accounts to purchase access to the tournament.
NCAA WEST REGIONAL (Coussoulis Arena; San Bernardino, Calif.; Nov. 30-Dec. 2)
First Round, Nov. 30 (all times Hawai'i Standard)
10:00 a.m.: #4 Cal State Los Angeles (18-10) vs. #5 Seattle Pacific (22-4)
12:30 p.m.:
#1 CHAMINADE (29-3) vs. #8 San Francisco State (18-10)
3:00 p.m.: #3 Cal Poly Pomona (21-7) vs. #6 Point Loma (21-6)
5:30 p.m.: #2 Cal State San Bernardino (24-4) vs. #6 Central Washington (20-6)
Semifinals, Dec. 1
3:00 p.m.: #4/5 winner vs. #1/8 winner
5:30 p.m.: #2/3 winner vs. #3/6 winner
West Region Championship, Dec. 2
5:00 p.m.: Winner advances to the NCAA Championships in Moon Township, Pa.
NCAA Division II Tournament Bracket (interactive)
Live game links:
Video (pay-per-view)
Prices: $9.95 per match | $29.95 for entire tournament (purchase at this
link)
*NCAA
press release regarding pay-per-view for NCAA Division II championships.
Live stats
Official NCAA Division II Volleyball Tournament Digital Program
REGIONAL TICKET INFORMATION (All seats general admission)
Purchase digit tickets
link
Adults - $10.00
Seniors (age 60+) - $5.00
Children (ages 3-12) - $5.00
Students with ID - $5.00
CHAMINADE vs. SAN FRANCISCO STATE
All-time series record: Chaminade leads, 6-4. CUH has won the last four meetings.
Last meeting: Sept. 8, 2023 (Kellogg Arena, Pomona, Calif.); CUH won 3-2
ABOUT THE SILVERSWORDS (29-3, 17-3 PacWest)
Chaminade's 29 wins are a single-season program record and they are the first PacWest squad to earn the region's top seed since California Baptist in 2017 … the Silverswords are ranked No. 14 in the final regular season AVCA Division II Coaches Poll … the 'Swords placed five members on the All-Pacific West Conference First Team with setter
Leilani Ama (Spokane, Wash./Mt. Spokane), outside hitter
Greta Corti (Varese, Italy/Univ. of San Francisco/Alessandro Manzoni Liceo HS), libero
Hula Crisostomo (Honolulu/Univ. of Texas El Paso/Moanalua HS), middle blocker
Lizanyela Lopez (Lima, Peru/Trinity Valley CC/Saco Oliveros HS) and right-side hitter
Ajack Malual (Rome, Italy/Tambosi ETI) … Ama was named the PacWest Setter and Freshman of the year, Crisostomo the Libero of the Year and Lopez the Newcomer of the Year … Lopez is the fifth straight Silversword to earn the conference's newcomer of the year award (Alana Handy, 2018; Leka Kiner-Falefa, 2019; Alexia Byres, 2021;
Sasha Colombo, 2022) … Corti earned her third All-PacWest honor.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
Like they have in the past three seasons, the Silverswords have a balanced attack with six players averaging more than 1.60 kills per set, led by Malaul's 3.41 followed by Corti at 3.04, both ranked in the PacWest's top eight in kills … Malual is also the PacWest's aces leader at 0.45 per set, followed by Corti (fourth, 0.40) and Crisostomo (seventh, 0.38) … Lopez finished the regular season fifth in attack percentage (.322) and blocks per set (1.04) … Crisostomo's 5.02 digs per set is on pace to finish second in single-season history, only behind Anna Dalla Vecchia's record of 5.09 in 2021 … team-wise, Chaminade led the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.123), assists (12.36), opponent kills (9.43), opponent blocks (1.58), service aces (2.14), opponent aces (1.22) and digs (16.22) … nationally in Division II, the 'Swords rank 17th in aces average, 35th in assists average, 34th in hitting percentage and seventh in opponent hitting percentage … among individual D-II national leaders, Crisostomo is 34th in digs per set while her 572 total assists is 20th, Ama's 1,057 assists is 37th.
HEAD COACH KAHALA KABALIS HOKE (12th year; career record, 213-125)
Chaminade's all-time winningest coach, she reached her milestone 200th career win on Oct. 7 at Fresno Pacific … Kabalis Hoke has been involved in all six of the Silverswords' NCAA postseason appearances, making two as an All-PacWest outside hitter (2002, 2004) and four as head coach (2018, 2021, 2022, 2023) … 2023 marks the fifth consecutive championship season (excluding the spring 2021 season when NCAA championships in Division II were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic) where the Silverswords have won 20 or more matches; the program had just one 20-win season (21-9 in 1996) prior to her arrival in 2012.
ABOUT THE GATORS (18-10, 13-5 CCAA)
SFSU is making its first NCAA postseason appearance since 2012 … San Francisco State finished in a tie for third in the CCAA … the Gators placed five players on the All-CCAA Teams with setter Kimberly DeBoer and right-side hitter Tamiya Wilson earning first team honors while outside hitter Izzy Issack and middle blocker Trinity Yates were on the second team and outside hitter Aidan Goodrich honorable mention … DeBoer was the CCAA Setter of the Year while Goodrich earned Freshman of the Year honors … DeBoer, a six-rotation setter, led the CCAA in assists with 1,035 at a 10.78 clip, ranking 15th in the NCAA … Wilson finished the regular season ranked third in the CCAA with a 3.73 kill per set average … like Chaminade, SFSU is a well-balanced offensive squad with four other attackers averaging over 2.07 kills per set while the team itself finished second in the CCAA in kills at 13.30 per set, third in percentage at .245 and third in aces at 1.83 … the Gators are 5-4 against Chaminade's common opponents (Point Loma, Azusa Pacific, Northwest Nazarene, Sonoma State, Cal State East Bay, Cal Poly Pomona) while the Silverswords are 6-2.
'SWORDS IN THE REGIONALS
All-time NCAA regional record: 3-5
All-time NCAA postseason results:
Nov. 21, 2002 (Pacific Regional; San Bernardino, Calif.)
L, 0-3; UC San Diego
Nov. 18-19, 2004 (Pacific Regional; La Jolla, Calif.)
W, 3-0; Cal State Los Angeles
L, 1-3; Cal State San Bernardino
Nov. 15, 2018 (West Regional; Bellingham, Wash.)
L, 0-3; Cal State San Bernardino
Dec. 2, 2021 (West Regional; San Bernardino, Calif.)
L, 1-3; Central Washington
Nov. 17-19, 2022 (West Regional; Bellingham, Wash.)
W, 3-2; Alaska Anchorage
W, 3-0; Cal Poly Pomona
L, 0-3; Cal State Los Angeles
