Phenomenal Season Comes to an End for Coyotes
Originally posted on csusbathletics.com
PENSACOLA, Fla. (December 7, 2017) — After beginning the season with a 5-5 record, CSUSB made a run for the ages that came to an end Thursday afternoon in the Sunshine State.
The sixth-seeded Coyotes, who secured their seventh NCAA West Regional title in school history last weekend, were defeated by third-seed and No. 21-ranked Florida Southern 3-1 in the NCAA quarterfinals at the University of West Florida Field House.
The Coyotes received 12 kills from both All-American senior OH
Lauren Nicholson and junior MB
Hailey Jackson in their 25-23 11-25, 20-25, 24-26 defeat, played before a crowd of 547.
CSUSB finished its season 24-8 overall with its 13th CCAA championship and aforementioned regional title after playing in its 18th consecutive NCAA Tournament.
It is their 21st season of at least 20 wins.
""It was a high-caliber match with lots of adjustments,'' head coach
Kim Cherniss said. "We threw a lot at our kids to counter balance what they did. Just a super opportunity for our young kids to understand what playing at this level is all about.
"At the end of the day, they outperformed us in some critical areas."
CSUSB jumped out in front with 19 kills in the opening set and hit .357 in 42 attacks. But the Mocs, who hit .318 in the set, delivered error-free play on the attack in the next two sets for a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth, six ties and three lead changes turned in favor of the Mocs (29-6), who scored the three final points for the victory after CSUSB led 24-23.
"We were concerned with our match-up in set one,'' Cherniss said. "For us to get 19 kills is a bit above our average. We had some bad service passes in the second. Both teams had some runs. They took a lot of risks at the service line (13 errors), where we want to be a little bit more tactical. At the end of the day, they were transitioning better than us.''
Nicholson finished one attack shy of a school record season attacks with her 50 attacks against FSC, but secured two career records in her final match at CSUSB.
She now owns the career kills/set mark at 3.820 (350 sets, 1,337 kills), ahead of three-time All-American and 2003 National Player of the Year Kim Morohunfola's mark of 3.811 (435 sets, 1,658 kills) and the career attacks/set record of 10.55 (3,691 attacks/350 sets), formerly held by Jane Liefveld (10.44 — 4,623 attacks/443 sets — 1997-00).
"Oh my gosh, this program is basically my home,'' said Nicholson, who needed the caring nature of her coach to help her finish.
"We've been here seven times in our history,'' Cherniss said. "We have so many alums who are actively involved in our program. For Lauren to lead us back to the NCAA championship after six years, no question, she has left an indelible mark on our program. She helped set the example for our underclassmen.''
Freshman
Alexis Cardoza also had double figures in kills with 10. Junior S
Jayann DeHoog had 39 assists and 17 digs, and junior
Hannah Barrett played well with 10 assists and 13 digs.
Freshman
Leilia To'omalatai led in digs with a match-high 25.
FSC's All-American Nicole Mattson had a match-high 21 kills as the Mocs finished at .307 on the attack with a 70-percent sideout average (57 of 81).