Robert Whitehead's Slide Show
RIVERSIDE (Dec. 2, 2017) — Senior
Lauren Nicholson found that the Cal Baptist gymnasium was the perfect setting for her 22
nd birthday on Saturday night. And the perfect present was an NCAA West Region championship.
For the seventh time in school history, the Coyotes are NCAA West Region Champions after a stunning 3-0 win over No. 5-ranked Western Washington. Stunning in the fact that the Coyotes fought, clawed, climbed … however you want to describe it … from a 21-12 deficit in the third set en route to a 25-22, 25-19, 29-27 victory over the Vikings.
That third-set effort will be discussed for years to come and adds to the legacy that head coach
Kim Cherniss's program has established in her 27 years at the helm.
"I'm in awe of our will to win tonight,'' Cherniss said. "Was it 21-12? That's unreal.''
CSUSB (24-7) awaits the NCAA committee's decision Sunday on the NCAA Championship seeding, but the Coyotes know they will play Thursday in Pensacola, Fla., and compete with seven others for the national championship.
CSUSB played lights out in the first two sets, hitting .300 in the first set and followed it up with a .341 effort in the second for the 2-0 lead over WWU (27-4).
The Coyotes struck with eight consecutive points and started with a kill from freshman
Lydia Morohunfola. In the stretch, she added one more kill and a block assist, while fellow freshman
Alexis Cardoza capped the run with consecutive kills to pull within a point at 21-20.
CSUSB got its first lead of the set at 26-25 on a Nicholson kill. The set was tied two more times before Morohunfola earned a kill to put CSUSB ahead 28-27. And it was meant to be for Nicholson to end the night with her 21
st kill on the night.
Stepping in at a critical moment in the second set was junior
Amanda Reifer. An injury forced freshman L
Leilia To'omalatai out of the match, and Reifer stepped with nine digs and an assist.
"So proud of Amanda, who played her heart out,'' Cherniss said. "That's a tough moment to be called upon and for Amanda to handle it well says so much about her.''
Earning All-Tourney honors were Nicholson, middle blocker
Hailey Jackson (five kills, one solo, one block assist), setter
Jayann DeHoog (41 assists, three kills, and 16 digs) and freshman
Alexis Cardoza (12 kills, three aces, nien digs).
Morohunfola also had 10 kills.
The Coyotes snapped WWU's 20-match winning streak and earned their first victory over WWU in the West finals in three tries.
