Thursday, November 30, 2023
by Evan O'Kelly, Assistant Commissioner For Communications

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – No. 4 seed Cal State LA held off No. 5 seed #19 Seattle Pacific 3-1 (25-13, 21-25, 25-19, 25-10) on Thursday afternoon in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA West Region Volleyball Championships at Coussoulis Arena.

The Falcons finished their historic season with a record of 22-5, and went 16-2 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play to capture their fourth championship and first since 2011. Cal State LA (19-10) advances to a Friday matchup against No. 1 seed Chaminade (30-3).

GNAC Player of the Year Hannah Hair finished one of the best seasons in GNAC history with four block assists while tying for the team lead with eight kills. First-team all-GNAC and all-region outside hitter Sarah Brachvogel matched Hair with eight kills on Thursday, while adding seven digs and three service aces. Setters Sophia Chambers and Emily Tulino contributed 16 assists and 14 assists, respectively, and Christina Lopez led the Falcons defensively with 19 digs.

The Falcons were held to a team hitting percentage of just .092 however, while the Golden Eagles hit at a solid clip of .250 in the victory. CCAA and West Region Player of the Year Emily Elliott led all players with 18 kills and completed a double-double with 13 digs. Iane Henke also had a double-double for CSULA, totaling 14 kills and 16 digs.

Hair’s Historic Season

After 27 matches played in 2023, Hair led Division II with 1.63 blocks per set, falling just 0.03 short of the GNAC single-season record of 1.66 set by Central Washington’s Sabrina Wheelhouse in 2016. Hair’s 160.0 total blocks were the most in the conference this year, and her 471.0 career total blocks slate her fifth in GNAC history with one season of eligibility remaining. Hair became the first in GNAC history to win both the GNAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Falcons in the NCAA Tournament

Since the GNAC was founded in 2001, it was Seattle Pacific’s seventh trip to the regional playoffs and first since the 2011 season. SPU is 2-7 all-time in the regionals, with both wins coming during the 2010 trip that brought the Falcons to the Sweet 16. It was the third time that SPU and CSULA met at the regional tournament, with the Golden Eagles winning in four sets in 2005 and the Falcons winning in five sets in 2010.