PERFECTION! Undefeated Coyotes Claim Program's First National Title
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DENVER - Perfection. There’s really no better way to describe Cal State San Bernardino’s 33-0 season capped by the 2019 NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship trophy.
In a battle of unbeatens in the championship final, the Coyotes outlasted Nebraska-Kearney in a 3-1 tussle for the title as Cal State San Bernardino claimed their first-ever national trophy in both school and program history.
The Coyotes are just the third undefeated national champion in Division II volleyball (2009: Concordia St. Paul, 2000: Hawaii Pacific) after handing the Lopers their first loss in a remarkable 38-1 season for the MIAA champions.
Cal State San Bernardino claimed the top spot in Division II volleyball early in the season with Nebraska-Kearney occupying the second slot in the AVCA Coaches Poll. By the end of regional play when the bracket was reseeded, the two squads held onto those same two positions, poised to clash in what would prove to be an epic night for the CCAA and West Region champions.
Neither side had won the big match in program history despite a long and storied history for both sides as the Lopers were making their 24 appearance the brackets and second in the finale, while Cal State San Bernardino has been on the national stage each of the last 20 seasons, coming in as runners-up two times previously.
But tonight belonged to the Coyotes, who overcame a pro-Loper atmosphere in the Auraria Event Center in Denver to snatch the win in four frames to cut down the net for the first time ever. The victory gives the CCAA their 154th national championship title and their first in a conference-sponsored sport since a two-trophy spring in 2011 (Cal State Monterey Bay men’s golf, UC San Diego softball).
| National Championship: No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino 3, No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney 1 |
Box Score |
Match Highlights |
CSUSB postgame |
UNK postgame
The Cal State San Bernardino offense was paced by a pair of women reaching the 20-kill plateau in the four-set match. The first, CCAA and unanimous national Player of the Year Alexis Cardoza, hit .370 and added eight digs and four blocks as well. The other 20-kill game went o senior and first-year Coyote Stephanie Doak with a new career high in her final match for Cal State San Bernardino.
Freshman setter Marlee Nunley assisted on a career-high 35 scoring plays with redshirt freshman Mehana Ma’a adding 24 assists to go with nine digs. Libero Leilia To’omalatai directed the defensive efforts while compiling a match-best 27 digs. Always big on the block, Jalyn Hayes coupled her seven kills with seven denials at the net running her string of matches with at least five blocks to 10.
The first two sets did not disappoint as it was evident that arguably the best two teams all season long were going toe-to-toe on the court.
Cal State San Bernardino struck first on the scoreboard and the battle began to live up to its billing from the outset. The two traded points with ties on each of the first eight numbers. The initial two-point advantage of the night came at 10-8 after Hayes combined with Moira Murphy on the block. The lead grew to four after Doak got in on the action, and then five when Cardoza served up an ace. Nebraska-Kearney whittled the advantage down to 21-19 in favor of the Coyotes after getting back-to-back points to force a timeout. Cardoza pounded the last three points of the set to get the Coyotes the advantage in the match, taking the first by a score of 25-22.
In the second, Nebraska-Kearney fought back with gusto, edging out to the early advantage and getting the crowd firmly engaged after Maddie Squiers was involved in four straight points to set the Lopers ahead at 6-2. Cal State San Bernardino rallied to knot the frame at 10 apiece and the Coyotes saw their first lead in the set after Hayes and Cardoza coupled up for the denial at the net to make it 12-11. It was short-lived, however, as the ensuing three points went the way of the Lopers.
The second stayed close and the set was again tied and 16 and later 18 apiece. Cal State San Bernardino benefitted from Nebraska-Kearney miscues to take four of the next five points to claim the 22-19 lead, but the Lopers put three unanswered on the board to again edge out in front. The set was capped by a block by Anna Squiers and Mary Katherine Wolf to even the score heading into the halftime break.
The third was all Coyotes as Cal State San Bernardino doubled up Nebraska-Kearney at 8-4 after back-to-back errors on the service line and in the attack for the Lopers. The advantage grew to 18-10 highlighted by a kill for Lydia Morohunfola sandwiched in between two successful attacks for Doak. The Lopers tried to rally late, and staved off one set point before Morohunfola ended the frame, 25-17.
In a must-win set for Nebraska-Kearney, the challengers started the fourth with determination and held the lead midway through the frame as Julianne Jackson’s swing made it 15-13 in favor of the Lopers. Cal State San Bernardino rallied for the next two points to knot it at 15-all in the middle of a four-point run for the Coyotes. Hayes went up for the solo block at 17-15 to force a Nebraska-Kearney timeout and the redshirt sophomore made it 18-16 after a powerful swing from the middle was too much for the Lopers’ defense to handle.
Cal State San Bernardino would never look back, claiming a 25-20 set victory to spark a celebration on the court that the Coyotes will remember forever.
For Coyote head coach Kim Cherniss, she is now seeing the championship in the eyes of a coach for the first time, now in her 29th season at the helm of the Cal State San Bernardino program. As a player at Riverside, the then-sophomore Kimbra Holder helped UC Riverside to a sweep of Cal State Northridge en route to All-Tournament Team honors as the Highlanders hoisted the trophy in 1982.