SAN BERNARDINO – Cal State San Bernardino's volleyball team had a list of things they wanted to get done Saturday night against CCAA co-leader Cal State Los Angeles.
- The Yotes wanted to win on Homecoming night. Check.
- They wanted to extend their current CCAA win streak to nine. Check
- They wanted to take over sole possession of first place in the conference by beating the Golden Eagles. Check.
- They wanted to keep their amazing regular season home win streak going. Check.
CSUSB, ranked No. 8 in NCAA Div. II, defeated Cal State L.A., ranked No. 23 in Division II, 3-1, to improve to 19-3 on the season and 12-2 in the CCAA while the Golden Eagles slipped to 13-9 and 11-3 in the CCAA. After the Yotes lost the first set 21-25, they came back to win the match 25-17, 25-13, 25-19.
In doing so, the Yotes won their 72
nd consecutive regular season home match, a steak that dates back to mid-September in 2015 when the lost at home to then-CCAA member U.C. San Diego.
As an added bonus, both the Yotes and Cal State L.A. clinched a berth in the 2023 CCAA championship tournament to be held at the Eagles' Nest at Cal State L.A.
Once again it was current NCAA Div. II national player of the week
Trinity Sheridan leading the way for the Yotes with 20 kills on 33 swings, good for a .500 hitting percentage. It was the sixth time this season she has put down 20 or more kills in a match. The freshman is No. 2 in the CCAA in kills per set at 3.82.
Senior setter
Marlee Nunley has been on fire of late, earning back-to-back CCAA player of the week honors for her performance setting the ball, digging and blocking. She had 41 assists (10.25 per set), nine digs and three block assists.
Ashley Robinson (11 kills) and
Jenna Patton (11 kills) backed up Sheridan on the front line. Patton hit .625 to pad her NCAA Division II lead in hitting percentage that was .487 coming into the match.
Team-wise, the Yotes outhit L.A. .348 to .227. CSUSB had 52 kills and four total blocks while L.A. had 39 kills and five total blocks.
L.A.'s Emily Elliott, No. 1 in the CCAA in kills per set (4.13), led the visitors with 17 kills on .300 hitting with two block assists. Iane Henke had nine kills and two digs. Ashley Dittmann produced eight kills and six digs. Rachel Lowe had three block assists.
CSUSB was its own worst enemy in the first set with seven service errors but did have 12 kills to nine for the Golden Eagles.
The Yotes maintained control in the second set leading by as much as eight points at 23-15 on back-to-back service aces by
Shira Lahav. Kills by Robinson and Patton finished off a 25-17 win to even the match.
The Yotes bolted out of the gate in the third set, winning 11 of the first 12 points before Elliott stopped the run with a kill. Later in the set, Sheridan slammed home a kill to make it 21-7. A Patton kill off a Nunley assist mercifully ended the set at 25-13.
In the fourth set, the score was tied at 10-10 on a kill by Robinson. The hosts pulled away to a 20-15 advantage on a pair of kills by Sheridan. Patton's kill made it 24-19 and reserve player
Abbey Clarke aced a serve on match point for the victory, 25-19.
In other CCAA contests, San Francisco State, a team the Yotes have beaten twice this season, improved to 11-4 and into third place while Cal Poly Pomona beat Stanislaus State to make its record 10-4. Sonoma State and Cal State San Marcos both won to remained tied for fifth at 9-5 in the conference.
UP NEXT: The Yotes will be on the road playing CCAA matches at Cal State East Bay (11-10 season, 7-7 CCAA) at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3, then playing at Cal State Monterey Bay (8-13 season, 5-9 CCAA) on Saturday, Nov. 4, also at 5 p.m. Watch the matches live streaming on the CCAA network or follow the stats at csusbathletics.com.
