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TURLOCK, Calif. - For the seventh time in the 10 years of the CCAA Volleyball Tournament, the Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes are lifting the championship trophy. CSUSB overcame a tough San Francisco State squad, which had already pulled off two upsets in the tournament, to win in three sets (25-21, 25-22, and 25-18) and clinch the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Regional.
 
Tournament MVP Kacie Pedersen led the Coyotes' (22-5) offense for the second straight night. The junior outside hitter had 20 kills on just 42 swings (.381 hitting percentage), and finished the tournament with 48 kills in seven sets.
 
While Pedersen was the only CSUSB student-athlete to reach double-figures in kills, the team got contributions up and down the lineup. Six different hitters recorded kills, including Savannah Hoffmann, who had eight kills and hit .300. Sarai Ross added four, and Allison Legates had three. Setter Makenna Edwards fought through an early injury and stayed in to dish out 26 assists. Jordan Cherniss and Jayden Chornomud had nine digs apiece to pace the team.
 
The trio of Tamiya Wilson, Aidan Goodrich, and Grace Witcher showed up big for SF State (13-15) for the third consecutive match. All three had double-digit kills, with Goodrich's 14 leading the way. She finished the tournament with 53 kills. All three earned all-tournament honors along with setter Melanie Hewlett, who had 31 assists in the loss.
 
The key to the match for CSUSB was its ability to close out sets. After San Francisco State had thrived in close matches in the first two games of the tournament, it was the Coyotes that made the plays down the stretch to secure the sets, and ultimately the CCAA Tournament Championship.
 
In the first set, SF State had a three-point run to take a 20-19 lead. CSUSB answered by scoring six of the last seven points to win the set. The Coyotes had three key aces down the stretch, including the set-winner by Jayden Chornomud. Cal State San Bernardino was able to win the set despite SFSU winning the kills 15-9 and outhitting it .217 to .139.
 
CSUSB opened the second set on a 6-1 run, but SF State battled back and cut its deficit to one at 18-17. A 4-0 spurt put CSUSB up 22-17, but again SFSU fought back and again cut it to one point at 23-22. Edwards then found Hoffmann and Legates for kills on consecutive plays to put the Coyotes up 2-0.
 
The grind of playing three matches, two to five sets, in three days began to take its toll on SF State for the first time in the third set. CSUSB went up 5-1 and 12-6. The Gators made one more push, cutting the Coyotes' lead to two at 13-11, but they were unable to get it closer the rest of the way. Cal State San Bernardino went on a 7-1 run to go up 20-12, then traded points the rest of the way, securing the set (25-18) and locking down its seventh CCAA Tournament title.
 
M'Kera Drake, Jayden Chornomud, McKenna Edwards, and Savannah Hoffmann all joined Pedersen on the CCAA All-Tournament Team.
 
San Francisco State is the first No. 5 seed to ever play in the CCAA Tournament Championship. It was also the first time the Gators had made the finals.
 
The win also secures the CCAA's automatic bid to the NCAA Regional for Cal State San Bernardino. They will find out where it will play during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, Nov. 24, at 4:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.