Roundup: Sea Lions advance in marathon NCAA Tournament match; USD cleans up

Host Point Loma Nazarene advanced to Friday’s semifinals of the NCAA Division II women’s volleyball Western Regionals Thursday evening with a 3-2 victory over Cal State San Bernardino at Golden Gym.

Abigail Nua ended the marathon match with her 24th kill to give the top-seeded Sea Lions a 20-25, 25-19, 25-19, 19-25, 21-19 victory. PLNU (25-4) will play the winner of Thursday night’s late game between Alaska-Anchorage and Alaska-Fairbanks in Friday’s 7 p.m. semifinal.

Saren Rogers backed Nua with 17 kills. Macy Reynolds and Sophia Baugh each had 24 digs for PLNU, while Baugh had 56 assists.

USD opens NCAA Tournament play

The University of San Diego women’s volleyball team begins NCAA Tournament play Friday afternoon after claiming four of the West Coast Conference’s five postseason awards.

Junior outside hitter Nemo Beach was named the WCC Player of the Year. Senior Olivia Bennett was selected the WCC’s Libero of the Year and sophomore Kylie Munday was named the conference’s Setter of the Year for the second straight season.

Beach, Munday, sophomore outside hitter Isabel Clark (the 2024 WCC Freshman of the Year) and graduate middle blocker Kali Engeman were first-team all-WCC selections. Bennett was selected to the second team.

Jennifer Petrie was named the WCC Coach of the Year for the eighth time after leading the team to an 18-0 conference record.

USD (25-4) will open NCAA Tournament play with a first-round match against Kansas State (17-9). The match begins at 2:50 p.m. from Lincoln, Neb.