CCA Release
SAN BERNARDINO (Dec. 5, 2017) — Senior
Lauren Nicholson, who leads the Coyotes into this week's NCAA Championship, joins the list of CSUSB all-time greats by being named to the Conference Commissioners Association (CCA) All-American honors program, the association announced Tuesday.
The Upland outside hitter, who was named to the second team, has enjoyed a dream season that was capped by unranked CSUSB winning its seventh regional title in school history last weekend at Cal Baptist. The Coyotes opened region play with a five-set win over Azusa Pacific, defeated the nation's top-ranked team in Cal Baptist in four sets, and shocked No. 5 Western Washington 3-0 in the final, thanks to their insurmountable third-set comeback after trailing 21-12.
Nicholson — the CCA West Region and CCAA Player of the Year — is the only CCAA selection on any of the honors squads and resides among the best in the country. Earlier this season, her school-record 29 kills against Chico State remains the most by an NCAA player (all divisions) in a three-set match. She is 10th in D2 in kills (510), 16th in kills/set (4.29) and 21st in total attacks (1,366).
She ranks sixth in CSUSB season kills, second in attacks, seventh in points (546). She is only the third Coyote in school history to have 1,000 career digs (1,019) and kills (1,325).
Among active career NCAA Division II competitors, she is 10
th in kills/set (3.83), 16
th in attacks/set (10.52) and 31
st in kills.
The Coyotes (24-7 overall) open the NCAA Championships at 10 a.m. Pacific Thursday against 21st-ranked Florida Southern (28-6) in Pensacola, Fla., and hosted by the University of West Florida.
It is the 15
th time a Coyote has been honored as a CCA All-America (formerly known as Daktronics Inc.) and she is the first since
Brenna McIntosh in 2015.
The Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-America Volleyball Team is sponsored by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association. The Division II Conference Commissioners Association encourages and promotes Division II athletics and high standards of sportsmanship as important elements of higher education. The CCA is a key communications link among the conferences as they discuss views, policies and regulations that impact Division II intercollegiate athletics and works closely with the NCAA as a communications channel to NCAA Division II member colleges and universities.
The All-America Volleyball team is selected by the NCAA Division II members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA).
