Box Score SAN BERNARDINO – The road to Cedar Rapids ended for the Coyotes on Saturday night in an epic 3-2 loss to Brigham Young Hawaii in the NCAA Division II West Regional final, at The Den at CSUSB.
 
Junior MB and All-Tournament choice Tori May was outstanding for the Coyotes as the Redlands native led her team with 23 kills and a .613 attack percentage, but the reigning regional champion Seasiders were a tough team to handle as they dealt CSUSB a 25-15, 17-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-10 defeat.
 
"This was a match that all volleyball fans could appreciate,'' Coyotes coach Kim Cherniss said. "For a volleyball connoisseur, there were enough nuances that caught your eye. And for the casual fans -- lots of action, back-and-forth swings, and big plays.
 
"But it's always tough when it ends because we played well tonight. But they did, too.''
 
After dropping the first set when BYUH earned a 93 percent on sideouts to open the match, the Coyotes fought right back and were in control with a 2-1 lead through three sets.
 
The middle blocker combination of May and sophomore Brenna McIntosh had four kills each and Danielle Newcombe added three in the second, as the Coyotes used an 8-2 run midway though the set and led 17-10 on a block assist from May and Newcombe.
 
May came up big in the third set with eight kills, no errors in 10 attacks. CSUSB got five kills late in the set – all from May – that pushed CSUSB from a 15-14 deficit to a 20-17 lead.
 
Alexandra Torline, May and Stephanie Sinohui added kills down the stretch and the Coyotes won 25-21 on another kill from Torline.
 
 But in the fourth that had 14 ties and seven lead changes, a pair of service errors late by the Coyotes helped the Seasiders forge ahead and won 25-22.
 
The Coyotes had the lead just twice in the fifth, both in the early going, as BYUH was successful on 80 percent on sideout (8-for-10) for the set and match winner.
 
McIntosh had 15 kills and Torline had 12. Sinohui had a double-double with 53 assists and 15 digs. Coyote single-season digs record holder Arielle McCullough had 23 digs.
 
Newcombe led in block assists with five and May and McIntosh each had four.
 
CSUSB ended its season 27-6 and reached the NCAA regional final for an unprecedented 14^th consecutive season.
 
BYUH takes a 27-1 record into next week's championship in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where it will take on Ferris State on Thursday.
 
Shih Ting Chen led the Seasiders with 23 kills.

May, Torline, McCullough and McIntosh were named to the all-tournament team. They joined BYUH's Er Fan Hsu, Noel Pauga, Shi Teng Chen and Ying Chun Chen, UC San Diego's Sara McCutcheon and Brittany Lombardi, and Sonoma State's Caylie Seitz and Kelsey Hull.