As the UCSD women’s volleyball team looks toward this weekend’s Pacific Regional in San Bernardino, Calif., familiar foes loom in the distance, standing between the Tritons and a second-consecutive trip to the Elite Eight.
This year’s Pacific Regional is the toughest of the eight national regions, with five of the six competing teams ranked in the top 25 nationally, and four of those teams being in the top 10.
Fourth-seeded UCSD (25-4) will open play Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m. against the fifth seed and only nationally unranked team of the Pacific Regionals, Chaminade of Hawaii. The Silverswords have compiled a 15-7 record over the course of the year and received a berth into the tournament despite their third-place finish in the Pacific West Conference.
The winner of the UCSD-Chaminade match will take on host Cal State San Bernardino (28-2). The Tritons finished second to the Coyotes in the California Collegiate Athletic Association by one game this year, and CSUSB swept both UCSD and Chaminade in two head-to-head contests.
However, in last year’s regional final, the Tritons shocked the Coyotes, and UCSD eliminated them in five games to move on. That match, along with some personal animosity, has developed into quite a rivalry between UCSD and CSUSB, and should the CCAA rivals meet for a third time on Nov. 22 at 7:30 p.m. for the regional semifinal, it promises to be one of the highlights of the tournament.
The Tritons are a confident bunch at this point in their season, having won their past six matches, but their only three defeats are at the hands of Western Washington and CSUSB — both of which UCSD may need to defeat in the regionals to advance.
Sophomore outside hitter Bonnie Wilson, who led the Tritons in kills this year, will have to get a strong start in each of the matches if UCSD expects to win; her play has been a catalyst all season.
As a team, the Tritons must pass well to get opportunities for middles Katie Hogan and Jennie Wilson and to keep the opposing block confused. Also, energy will be a key factor, since the Tritons must shake their occasional lethargic tendencies and play with passion to be successful in the tournament.
On the other side of the bracket is sixth-seeded Cal State Los Angeles (19-10) — one of the most unpredictable teams in the draw — in addition to third-seeded Western Washington (23-2) and second-seeded BYU Hawaii (22-2). The Vikings of WWU held the top spot in the regional poll for most of the second half of the year, but they were dropped from first to third in a puzzling switch when the final poll came out.
Two teams will emerge from their respective sides of the bracket for the regional final, which will be held Nov. 23 at 7 p.m., with the winner standing only three victories away from a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II national championship.
