There's a youth movement going on in the Northwest Conference.

Four freshmen volleyball players with Hawai'i ties were named to the All-NWC team, which was announced yesterday.

Pacific middle blocker Kelsy Takashima, a 2008 Moloka'i graduate, and Whitworth outside hitter Kaimi Rocha, a 2008 Seabury Hall graduate, earned first-team honors. Kaimi's twin sister, Ka'ipo, a middle blocker, and Linfield outside hitter Samantha Lau, a 2008 St. Francis graduate, were named Honorable Mention.

In addition, Pacific Lutheran coach Kevin Aoki, a 1980 'Iolani graduate, was named Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season.

PLU has won the NWC title four of the last five seasons, including the last three.

"We started off the conference one (win) and two (losses) and one of our all-conference players went down with a knee injury right before conference season started," said Aoki, in his 13th season at PLU. "We ran the table the rest of the way; won 13 in a row. I think our setter got better and our younger players got better, too."

Aoki said he has no seniors on his roster and the starting lineup includes five freshmen.

"The good thing about a young team is they have room to grow," said Aoki, who played basketball against President-elect Barack Obama and was coached by Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann at 'Iolani.

The Lutes (20-6, 14-2 NWC), currently ranked 16th in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III poll, play Nebraska-Wesleyan tomorrow in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

"The last couple years we haven't played that well at regionals, we've been one-and-out, so hopefully we can improve on that this year," Aoki said.

Aoki also noted three other head coaches in the NWC have Hawai'i ties. Pacific's Lena Chan (formerly Lena Kaer) is a Mililani graduate, Linfield's Shane Kimura is an 'Iolani graduate and Willamette's Tom Shoji is the brother of Rainbow Wahine coach Dave Shoji.

Aoki was impressed by the play of Takashima and Kaimi Rocha this season.

Takashima started all 24 matches, hitting .279, with 2.50 kills per game. She also averaged 0.83 digs and 0.69 blocks per game.

Kaimi Rocha started 26 of 28 matches, averaging 2.99 kills, 0.80 digs and 0.42 digs per game.

"They're both very good freshmen players," Aoki said. "There are usually a few local players in our conference."

MORE WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL

• Washington junior libero Tamari Miyashiro (Kalani '05 of Kane'ohe) had a match-high 17 digs and three assists in Friday's sweep of Southern California. In a four-set win over UCLA Sunday, Miyashiro notched a match-high 26 digs, five assists and two aces. The Huskies (19-4 overall, 10-3 Pac-10) remained at No. 5 in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 poll.

• Pepperdine sophomore setter Kealohilani Kea (Kamehameha '07 of Honolulu) had 43 assists, five digs, three blocks and two kills in Thursday's sweep of Loyola Marymount. Freshman defensive specialist Diana Hiromoto (Punahou '08 of Honolulu) led the Lions with 10 digs. The Waves (17-5, 5-5 West Coast) fell one spot to 24th in this week's AVCA poll.

• Long Beach State freshman Lauren Minkel ('Iolani '08 of Honolulu) had nine digs in Friday's sweep of UC Santa Barbara. In a five-set win over Cal Poly Saturday, Minkel had 10 digs and one block. The Beach (21-4, 10-2 Big West) moved into this week's AVCA poll at 25th.

• Oregon State junior setter Camilla Ah-Hoy (Kahuku '06 of La'ie) had 25 assists, six digs, three kills and a block in Friday's three-set loss to Oregon.

• Adelphi (N.Y.) sophomore setter Heather Mau (Maryknoll '07 of Honolulu) had 47 assists, eight digs, four kills, three aces and a block in Thursday's five-set win over Bridgeport. The Panthers (26-10, 11-5 East Coast) meet NYIT in today's first round of the ECC Tournament.

• Western New Mexico sophomore outside hitter Alzie Auelua (Radford '05 of 'Aiea) had nine kills, four digs, three assists and an ace in Saturday's four-set win over Mesa State (Colo.). Freshman middle blocker Dreanne Shaw (Kamehameha-Maui '08 of Wailuku) had eight kills, five blocks, two digs and two aces and freshman outside hitter Yacine Meyer (Seabury Hall '08 of Pukalani) added three kills for the Mustangs (20-7, 14-5 Rocky Mountain). WNMU, the second seed, plays Mesa State Friday in the RMAC Tournament quarterfinals.

• Regis (Colo.) freshman libero Cassidee Young (Kamehameha '08 of Pearl City) had 16 digs and one assist in Saturday's four-set win over Chadron State (Neb.). The Rangers (16-11, 12-7 Rocky Mountain) are the fifth seed in the RMAC Tournament and play Fort Lewis Friday.

FOOTBALL

• Southern California senior linebacker Kaluka Maiava (Baldwin '04 of Wailuku) had two tackles and broke up a pass in Saturday's 17-3 win over California. Junior defensive end Tyson Alualu (Saint Louis '05 of Honolulu) had three tackles, including a sack that went for a loss of 10 yards, for Cal. Senior defensive tackle Mika Kane (Kamehameha '05 of Kailua) added two tackles.

• Oregon sophomore quarterback Jeremiah Masoli (Saint Louis '06) passed for 144 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for 51 yards in Saturday's 35-28 win over Stanford. Sophomore defensive lineman Matthew Masifilo (Campbell '07 of 'Ewa Beach) had three tackles for Stanford.

• Oregon State redshirt freshman linebacker David Pa'aluhi (Kamehameha '07 of Wai'anae) had three tackles, including a sack for a loss of 12 yards, and forced a fumble in Saturday's 34-6 win over UCLA.

• Weber State sophomore quarterback Cameron Higgins (Saint Louis '06 of Hawai'i Kai) completed 18 of 23 passes for 369 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday's 59-27 win over Idaho State. Higgins threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Cody Nakamura (Baldwin '05 of Wailuku) just before halftime to make it 21-10.

• Montana-Western freshman quarterback Micah Mamiya (Saint Louis '08 of Honolulu) was 31-of-53 passing for 376 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday's 31-26 loss to Rocky Mountain College.

CROSS COUNTRY

• Nicole Anderson ('Iolani '05 of Kailua) of Amherst (Mass.) finished ninth out of 298 runners at Saturday's Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships with a 6-kilometer time of 23:59. Teammate Christina Wong (Punahou '07 of Honolulu) finished 17th in 24:33 as Amherst placed second out of 42 teams with 75 points.

• Oregon Tech freshman Kelsey Abellanida (King Kekaulike '08 of Makawao) finished 56th out of 85 runners at Saturday's Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships with a 5K time of 20:50. Eastern Oregon freshman Keilani Wasson (Kahuku '08 of La'ie) was 68th in 21:12, helping EOU to a fifth-place finish with 129 points. Oregon Tech was sixth in the 11-team field with 131 points.

• Illinois Tech sophomore Kevin Acacio (Waipahu '07 of Waipahu) finished 44th out of 72 runners at Saturday's Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships with an 8K time of 29:45.52. Illinois Tech placed third out of eight teams with 79 points.

• Soka (Calif.) freshman Alexandria Andrist (Mid-Pacific '08 of Honolulu) finished 31st out of 35 runners with a 5K time of 23:01 at Saturday's Association of Independent Institutions Championship. Soka finished last in the four-team field with 120 points.

• Pacific Union's Christal Nishikawa (Hawaiian Mission '05 of Honolulu) finished 23rd out of 54 runners with a 5K time of 23:01 at Friday's California Pacific Conference Championships. Mills (Calif.) freshman Jodessa Lanzaderas (Farrington '08 of Honolulu) finished 33rd in 24:14. Mills finished second in the seven-team field with 87 points and Pacific Union was fourth with 99. In the men's 8K race, Cal State East Bay freshman Dillon Soldwisch (Lahainaluna '08) was 29th out of 36 runners in 35:06. East Bay finished second in the six-team field with 50 points, missing first by one point and an automatic berth to the NAIA Championships.

• At Saturday's extended NCAA Division II West Region Championships, Cal State Stanislaus freshman Dawson Vorderbruegge (Kaiser '08 of Hawai'i Kai) placed 44th out of 125 runners with a 10K time of 35:39.7. The men's race was stopped about 5 kilometers in after the lead pack made a wrong turn on the UC San Diego course. The men's race was restarted from the beginning two hours later, after the women's race was completed. The Warriors finished 10th out of 18 teams with 291 points.

SWIMMING & DIVING

• Fairfield (Conn.) freshmen Kekoa Taparra (Kamehameha '08 of Mililani) and Michelle Yoshida (Punahou '08 of Kane'ohe) each won three events in Saturday's dual meet against Marist. Taparra won the 100-yard breaststroke (59.46 seconds), 200 breaststroke (2:11.37) and the 400 individual medley (4:12.72). Yoshida won the 50 freestyle (25.17 seconds), 100 freestyle (54.33) and was on the winning 200 medley relay (1:55.26) team.

• Lindenwood (Mo.) freshman Sarah Billiamosa (Pearl City '08) won the 100-yard butterfly (1:00.68) and finished second in the 200 freestyle (2:00.19). She also was on the winning 200 medley relay (1:54.24) team for the Lions, who fell to Marist, 68-44. Junior Jenna Nakamoto (Kalani '06 of Honolulu) was second in the 100 breaststroke (1:18.63). Freshman Jessica Lau ('Iolani '08 of Honolulu) was fifth in the 200 individual medley (2:21.13), 100 butterfly (1:03.90) and 100 backstroke (1:04.52). Sophomore Devon Palermo (Saint Louis '07) finished second in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.78) and fourth in the 200 individual medley (2:09.75).

• Occidental (Calif.) sophomore Karie Nickle (Kamehameha '07 of Honolulu) finished first in the 200-yard freestyle (2:03.55), the 100 freestyle (56.88) and was on the runner-up 400 freestyle relay (3:56.36) team in Saturday's dual meet against Cal Lutheran. Oxy beat CLU, 126-110.

MEN'S SOCCER

• Washington junior midfielder Daniel Phelps (Leilehua '06 of Wahiawa) scored his first goal of the season in the 74th minute of Friday's 4-2 loss to Stanford.

• Gonzaga junior midfielder Tye Perdido (Seabury Hall '06 of Kula) and sophomore midfielder Nick Love (Punahou '07 of Kane'ohe) scored in the 19th and 70th minute of Friday's 4-1 win over San Diego. Perdido also had an assist in the 35th minute of Sunday's 2-1 win over Loyola Marymount.

WOMEN'S SOCCER

• Denver junior midfielder Lizzy Carlson (Punahou '06 of Honolulu) had two assists last week to help the Pioneers to their third consecutive Sun Belt Conference Tournament title. Carlson had an assist in Wednesday's 2-1 win over Arkansas-Little Rock and another in Thursday's 4-2 win over Florida Atlantic. Denver (19-2-2) topped Western Kentucky, 2-0, Friday in the tournament final. Denver meets Kansas in Friday's first round of the NCAA Division I Tournament.

• Rutgers junior forward Caycie Gusman (Kamehameha '06 of Honolulu) was named Honorable Mention All-Big East Conference. Gusman had a team-high eight goals, including five game-winners, before suffering a season-ending knee injury on Oct. 19. The Scarlet Knights (12-6-1) play Penn State Friday in the NCAA first round.

• Harvard senior midfielder Rachael Lau (Punahou '05 of Honolulu) had an assist in Saturday's 2-1 win over Columbia. The Crimson finished 10-3-4, 5-1-1 in the Ivy League and play Northeastern in Friday's first round of the NCAA Tournament.

• Northern Arizona sophomore midfielder/defender Miya Quinn (Mid-Pacific '07 of Honolulu) had an assist in the 37th minute of Thursday's 1-0 win over Portland State. The Lumberjacks beat Weber State, 2-1, Saturday to capture the Big Sky Conference Tournament championship. NAU (12-6-3) plays Portland Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

•ÊLoyola Marymount sophomore midfielder/forward Nickey Ha ('Iolani '07 of Honolulu) scored her first goal this season in the 30th minute of Saturday's 2-0 win over St. Mary's.

• Wisconsin-Parkside freshman Kahili Cheng (Kalaheo '08 of Kailua) scored in the 23rd minute of Friday's 3-1 win over Drury in the semifinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. The Rangers, who beat Northern Kentucky, 2-1, Sunday in the tournament final, play the winner of Northern Kentucky and Rockhurst Friday in the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament.

• Azusa Pacific senior forward Sarah Yoro (Mililani '05) scored in the 69th minute of Friday's 3-0 win over The Master's College.

• Puget Sound junior forward/defender Melissa Abellanida (King Kekaulike '06 of Pukalani) scored two goals — her third and fourth of the season — in Saturday's 4-0 win over Willamette. Abellanida scored unassisted in the 15th minute and off a header in the 19th minute. The Loggers (18-1-0, 16-0-0 Northwest) completed the first-ever undefeated regular season in the NWC. They play in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament Sunday.

COMMITMENT

• Kapolei senior Kaiulani Clark will sign a letter of intent to play softball at East Carolina University.