Another season of promise for the Chaminade women’s volleyball team ended in familiar fashion in the NCAA Division II West Regional on Friday.

The Silverswords received the top seed in the West for the first time in program history but were nonetheless swept, 25-23, 25-18, 25-19 in the second round by Cal State Los Angeles, the same opponent that stopped CUH’s unprecedented run to the regional final in 2022.

Fourth-seeded Cal State LA (20-10) of the California Collegiate Athletic Association got 12 kills from West Region Player of the Year Emily Elliott and stifled Chaminade (30-4) at Cal State San Bernardino's Coussoulis Arena, holding the PacWest team to .078 hitting, a season worst. CUH struggled against the CSLA block all match with a 6-1 deficit and were outdone 9-5 in service aces.

“I think it came down to our first touch and then it limited our offensive options,” coach Kahala Kabalis Hoke told CUH Athletics. “Once we got to that place, it was easier for Cal State LA defensively to put up a double block or understand where we’re coming from. Then our hitters (began thinking) now that they know what’s going on, we have to do something a bit extra and that bit extra turned into missing the court.”

It will be the third straight regional final appearance for Cal State LA. The Golden Eagles will face either host Cal State San Bernardino or Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday for the right to go to the eight-team NCAA championships.

With a roster stocked with experienced international players, Chaminade coach Kahala Kabalis-Hoke led the team to the program's first 30-win season, but still short of her goal of going beyond the regional.

“(We’re letting) other programs know that Chaminade belongs here, we’ve earned our way to make a name for ourselves and we want to continue to be successful," Kabalis Hoke said. “At first, we did call it a rise. I’d like to say we’ve proven to people that we’re a program to be looked at and we want to continue that. I’m very proud of the young ladies that’s been in our program.”

CUH got off to strong starts in both Sets 1 and 2, including advantages of 15-10 and 19-17 in the first. But it would not hold as the Golden Eagles scored five of the next six points, then three of the final four in the frame.

The Silverswords were up 11-8 in the second and had it tied at 16 — then the bottom fell out as CSLA went on a 9-2 run for a 2-0 overall lead.

CSLA took command early in Set 3 and never let up. Chaminade got to within 19-15 but no closer.

Sophie Schilling led CUH with eight kills on .400 hitting. Greta Corti added seven kills but had eight errors. PacWest first-team hitter Ajack Malual was held to four kills against eight errors for a minus-.235 hitting percentage.

Hula Crisostomo had 11 digs for Chaminade. Malual and Kendall Rios had two aces apiece.

Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.