SAN FRANCISCO (Nov. 17, 2017) — A one-two punch from CCAA Player of the Year Lauren Nicholson and freshman Alexis Cardoza pushed the Coyotes closer to a CCAA title in a thrilling five-set win over Cal State East Bay in the conference tournament semifinals Friday night.
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Here are the numbers
Nicholson cranked out a career-high 31 kills (tied for fourth in school history) and Cardoza ripped a season-best 22 kills as the Coyotes needed every one of them in their 27-29, 25-15, 25-22, 23-25, 15-12 victory over the Pioneers. CSUSB hit .279 on the night with Nicholson and Cardoza contributing 65 percent of the kills.
 
Twenty-one straight years of 20 wins
The victory puts CSUSB at 20-7 overall and extends its streak of 20 or more wins to a remarkable 21 consecutive seasons.
 
Powered by DeHoog
Junior Jayann DeHoog set up her teammates with a season-high 64 assists, ranking eighth all time in CSUSB history.
 
Playing for the title
CSUSB takes on North #3 Chico State for the CCAA title. The two teams met just once this season, and it was a remarkable one. CSUSB won 3-0 with Nicholson establishing a school-record 29 kills in the three-set victory; the most kills in a three-set match at any level in the NCAA this season. Saturday night's victor receives the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament that begins Nov. 30. CSUSB is ranked fourth in the latest NCAA West Region poll and Chico State was unranked.

Lucky 13
A Coyotes' victory over Chico State would give CSUSB its 13th CCAA title in school history.
 
Middle power
Junior All-CCAA MB Hailey Jackson overmatched the Pioneers with 14 kills (.440 percentage) with seven digs and one block assist. Freshman Lydia Morohunfola followed with eight kills, two solo blocks and one block assist.
 
Getting the job done on D
Five Coyotes earned double-digits in digs with freshman L Leilia To'omalatai leading with 20. Both Nicholson and Hannah Barrett had 17, while Cardoza had 16 and DeHoog 12.