Box Score: No. 6 Coyotes def. No. 14 Seattle Pacific

SAN BERNARDINO -- The torch bearer over the last decade-plus in NCAA West Region volleyball has resided right here in the Inland Empire.

And the torch never shined brighter than Saturday night when the No. 6-ranked Cal State San Bernardino routed 14th-ranked Seattle Pacific 3-0 for its third straight West Region title and fifth in the last eight years.

"I'm so proud that we're going back for the third straight year,'' said Head Coach Kim Cherniss. "I couldn't be more proud of our now three straight titles. We've got members of our team who know nothing but going and playing for a national championship.''

The Coyotes played big-time on a grand stage before a home crowd of 574 at Coussoulis Arena. The 25-22, 25-22, 25-14 victory marked the ninth straight West Region 3-0 win over the last three seasons and was their 15th consecutive win this year and 45th straight home win.

Senior Nicole Moore led the Coyotes, now 28-2 overall, with 15 kills, three digs and two solo blocks. Junior All-American and this year's CCAA most valuable player Samantha Middleborn had 10 kills and a solo block with two block assists.

"I thought we withstood a lot of their pressure tonight,'' Cherniss said. "They blocked a lot of balls than I thought. Nikki (Lowell) did a nice job on the block, but Nicole (Moore) played well and made necessary adjustments.''

The opening set was tied at 18-18 before CSUSB found an opening. After a SPU attack error, Moore threw down a kill and CSUSB eventually led 21-19.

Moore offered two more kills down the stretch and with CSUSB up 23-22, it went on to win the set after a SPU service error and a block assist from Megan Johnson and Jane Chafeh.

In set two, SPU worked an early lead at 14-11 before the Coyotes got back into the set.

A kill from Johnson, a solo block from Moore and two straight attack errors gave CSUSB a 15-14 lead.

Moore then followed with a kill to cap a 5-0 run and the Coyotes remained out front.

The Coyotes then dominated set three with a .360 attack percentage. Leading 14-11, CSUSB got a big-time run late that began on a Middleborn kill. With freshman Danielle Newcombe serving, the Coyotes scored eight straight points -- three kills from Moore, three attack errors from SPU and a kill from Johnson.

Leading 24-14, the set and match ended with a kill from Johnson and the Coyotes were on the court to celebrate the win.

"We play with a never-say-die attitude,'' Moore said. "Definitely, we want to win every single game. We played well tonight and it was a blast.''

The Coyotes will now advance to the National Championship, set for Dec. 2-4 in Louisville, Ky. The Coyotes will face a familiar foe in the opening round -- Concordia St. Paul, the team that has ended the Coyotes' season in each of the last two years.

"It doesn't matter who we play from the Central Division, we know whoever gets out of that region is going to be good,'' Cherniss said. "We've got the experience of playing there before.''

SPU finished its season 26-3 and reached the Round of 16 for the first time in its history.

"The experience that we've gained over the last two years and playing four NCAA matches is something that we're proud of,'' said Falcons head coach Chris Johnson. "We only lose one senior to graduation and we're building something that we'll be back again this year. Hopefully it won't be in San Bernardino.''

MATCH NOTES: The 12-team All-Tournament team was headlined by Coyotes. Six were on the team -- Jane Chafeh, Samantha Middleborn, Nicole Moore, Camille Smith, Megan Johnson and write-in recipient Morgan Carty. The others were: SPU's Sarah Risser, Lindsey Wodrich, Shelby Swanson and Nikki Lowell. Kari Rice and Megan Amundson of Western Washington complete the team.