CARSON -- Cal State San Bernardino improved to 25-1 on the season and in a tie for first place in the CCAA conference volleyball standings Friday night with a 3-0 sweep of cellar-dwelling Cal State Dominguez Hills at the Torodome.
        CSUSB, ranked No. 1 in the West Region and No. 3 in the nation, is now 18-1 in the CCAA while the lowly Toros slipped to 1-25 overall and 1-18 in the conference. Scores of the sets were 25-17, 25-17 and 25-12.
        The victory enabled the Coyotes to take a one-game lead over UC San Diego with three matches left in the regular season because San Francisco State upset the Tritons, 3-1, in a match at the Gators gym Friday night. UCSD, ranked No. 2 in the West Region and No. 2 in the nation, is now 25-2 overall and 17-2 in the CCAA.
        Senior Ashtin Hall was the best performer for the Coyotes on the night knocking down eight kills on 12 attacks for .667 hitting. Sophomore Samantha Middleborn had seven kills and two blocks. Junior Jane Chafeh had six kills on .308 hitting with two solo blocks while junior Nicole Moore also had six kills on .455 hitting.
        The Coyotes hit .382 for the match (38 of 76 with nine attack errors) while the Toros were held to just .100 hitting. CSUSB led in digs 33-24 and assists 36-24. Coyote servers produced nine aces, three of them by freshman Jessica Girgle. Sara Hoffman and Alyssa Auck combined for 32 assists.
         Ashley Clark had a team-high eight kills for the hapless Toros.
         The Coyotes used everyone available during the match as they prepared for Saturday night's showdown with Cal State L.A. at the Eagles' Nest at 7 p.m. The Golden Eagles sit in third place in the CCAA with a 15-4 record (19-7 overall) after edging Cal Poly Pomona, 3-2, Friday night. LA is ranked No. 6 in the West and No. 21 in the nation.
        In other CCAA action Friday night, Sonoma State moved into fourth place at 13-6 with a 3-0 shutout of Chico State, now tied with the Gators for fifth place at 12-7 on the season.