Cal State San Bernardino, ranked No. 2 in the nation and now in second place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association heading into this week's CCAA matches, will have a chance to regain at least a share of the lead Friday and Saturday. 
    The Coyotes, 13-1 overall and 5-1 in the CCAA, host Humboldt State (6-7 overall, 4-2 CCAA) at 7 p.m. Friday night in Coussoulis Arena and CCAA leader Sonoma State, 14-1 (6-0 CCAA) at 3 p.m. on Saturday. 
    CSUSB currently is tied for second place in the conference with UC San Diego, the team that ended the Coyotes 12-match unbeaten streak to open the season and its perch on top of the nation's top 25 poll with a 3-2 victory last Friday night after trailing 2-0. 
    Sonoma State first has a challenge at Cal Poly Pomona, 7-4 overall and 4-2 in the CCAA. The Broncos are coming off a 3-1 loss to CSUSB and a 3-2 loss to UCSD. 
    CSUSB VS. HUMBOLDT ST. – Coyotes lead the all-time series 7-3 and have won all four matches since HSU joined the CCAA in 2006 by scores of 3-0. 
    CSUSB VS. SONOMA ST. – Coyotes lead the all-time series 22-2. The Seawolves have been swept in nine of the last 10 matches against CSUSB. 
    NCAA INDIVIDUAL LEADERS – CSUSB's Jessica Granados ranks No. 4 in the nation in kills per set at 4.18…..setter Sara Hoffman ranks No. 5 in the nation in assists per set at 11.70….libero Meghan Haas is 46th in digs at 4.60 per set…..Sara Rice is 13th in the nation in hitting percentage (.389)….Taylor Krenwinkel of Sonoma State is 32nd in digs per set at 4.73….. 
    NCAA TEAM LEADERS – Sonoma State ranks No. 1 in the nation in digs per set at 20.16 and 43rd in blocks per set (2.05)…..CSUSB ranks No. 5 in hitting percentage (.284), No. 6 in assists per set (13.12), 13th in kills per set (13.82)……Humboldt State is 30th in blocks per set (2.15)… 
    CCAA TEAM LEADERS – Coyotes lead the CCAA in hitting percentage (.284), assists (13.12), kills (13.82)…..Sonoma State is No. 1 in opponent hitting percentage (.107), No. 1 in digs (20.16) and No. 2 in hitting percentage (.211)…..Humboldt State is No. 3 in blocks (2.15). 
    CCAA INDIVIDUAL LEADERS – CSUSB: – Sara Rice is No. 1 in hitting percentage (.389)… Sara Hoffman is No. 1 in assists (11.70)…..Jessica Granados is No. 1 in kills (4.18), No. 3 in hitting (.312)…Meghan Haas is No. 3 in digs (4.60). SONOMA ST. – Kristy Sather is No. 4 in kills (3.44)….Taylor Krenwinkel is No. 1 in digs (4.73) while teammates Ali Walker and Kelsey Dall are Nos. 8 and 9 respectively….Lindsay Brown is No. 4 in assists (9.26)…Rikki Buchshnis is No. 7 in hitting (.267) and teammate Kristy Sather is No. 8 (.262)….HUMBOLDT ST. – Liz Shannon is No. 9 in assists (7.09)…Toni Kroeker is No. 3 in blocks (1.06)….Lynsey Adams is No. 9 in kills (2.91)…Dani Nelson is No. 6 in digs (4.26). 
    HOUSE OF PAIN – Coussoulis Arena has been a tough place for visitors to win volleyball matches. Since 1997, the Coyotes are 138-18 in Coussoulis Arena and 97-11 in CCAA conference matches at home. CSUSB has a 67-3 record at home in CCAA matches since the start of the 2001 season, 94-9 overall in that span. Only CCAA home losses in that span have been to UCSD (2004, 2007) and Cal Poly Pomona (2005). CSUSB is 7-0 at home thus far in 2008, 3-0 in the CCAA. 
    YOTES NOTES – Junior Ashtin Hall has been a key all-rotation player for the Coyotes thus far in 2008, averaging 2.62 kills and 2.56 digs per game with 12 service aces and 21 total blocks and a .256 hitting percentage…..sophomore Jane Chafeh ranks No. 10 in the CCAA in kills per set at 2.83……freshman Samantha Middleborn has 27 blocks (0.90 per set)…..CSUSB is 4-1 against D-2 top 25 teams thus far in 2008 and beat NAIA No. 2 Cal Baptist 3-1 last Saturday night….Coach Kim Cherniss now has 365 career wins at CSUSB as her 18th season at CSUSB reaches the halfway mark…. 
    HUMBOLDT HAPPENINGS – Sue Woodstra, a former Colton High School star volleyball player and all-American at USC, is back as head coach of the Lady Lumberjacks after serving as a coach for the U.S. national women's team for a year and a half. Woodstra coached the indoor women's volleyball team to a bronze medal at the Pan American Games in 2007 and was the No. 1 assistant coach on the U.S. team that won a silver medal at the Bejing Olympics this past summer. This is her sixth season at HSU….she formerly coached at Cal-Berkeley and won a silver medal herself at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles as a member of the U.S. team…..The 'Jacks have won four of their last five matches, losing only to San Francisco State 3-0 in Sept. 27…..Toni Kroeker has a team-high 50 blocks with Danielle Wells not far behind at 42 and Mallory Briney has 36….. 
    SEAWOLVES SNIPPETS – This is the best team that Coach Bear Grassl has fielded in his six-plus seasons at SSU. The Seawolves were 78-84 in his first six seasons (50-68 in the CCAA) but SSU was 8-3 over its last 11 matches of 2007, giving the team a record of 22-4 since the middle of 2007……Rikki Buckshnis leads SSU in blocks with 52….SSU has won its last 10 matches in a row since losing to Central Washington 3-1 on Sept. 5…the team is 9-0 at home this year……Kristy Sather leads the team in solo blocks with 12….Seven players are from Southern California, including Megan Wong of Rancho Cucamonga, a freshman defender and graduate of Los Osos HS….