Seasiders take act
to NAIA pool party

No. 1 BYUH sweeps a pair
in the national tournament

Star-Bulletin staff

KANKAKEE, Ill. -- Read the scores and it looks like the No. 1 Brigham Young University-Hawaii women's volleyball team took care of business as usual on the first day of pool play in the NAIA National Tournament.

Listen to BYUH head coach Wilfred Navalta and you get a different story.

Yes, the Seasiders defeated Western Oregon, 15-8, 15-3, 15-5, and St. Mary's of Texas, 15-8, 15-4, 15-8, yesterday to continue their yearlong routine of sweeping opponents.

But they made it far tougher on themselves than necessary, according to Navalta.

"We definitely are not playing at our level," he said. "We're making a lot of hitting mistakes and unforced errors even though we're winning. That's the major concern right now for me.

"We had a number of great opportunities to terminate on easy shots against weak blocks. But we would hit wide, and not by a couple of inches, but by two or three feet."

The solution for Navalta was gathering his team for a closed-door, heart-to-heart talk before heading out for the evening meal.

He noted that the Seasiders won their first two matches in similar fashion last year before being upset by Peru State on the second day. Navalta hopes the wake-up call came last night, not today against Dickinson (N.D.) State.

"If we play a good ballhandling team, a scrappy team, we'll definitely be in trouble," Navalta said. "Right now the challenge is from within, not from the other teams."

He also pointed out that Puget Sound upset No. 2 Columbia yesterday and that Dickinson State had its 33-match winning streak stopped, so anything is possible.

Freshman outside hitter Vanessa Valansi led the Seasiders (27-0) with 21 kills and 19 digs against Western Oregon. She hit .529 for the match.

Ana Alves had 15 kills and Arlete Silva 13.

Alves had 17 kills against St. Mary's, Valansi had 16 and Silva 12.

One positive was the Seasiders' serves. BYUH had eight aces in the first match and 10 in the second while being aced just once in each match.

ALVES HONORED: Ana Alves, a senior outside hitter for the Brigham Young University-Hawaii women's volleyball team, has been named to the NAIA All-America Scholar-Athlete team.

Alves, an international business major, has maintained a 3.72 grade point average and has twice been named to the Dean's List.

She has been a four-year starter for the Seasiders.