SAN BERNARDINO – Cal State San Bernardino survived the ups and downs of the first four sets, then dominated the fifth and deciding set Saturday night to defeat long-time rival Cal Poly Pomona, 3-2, in a thrilling CCAA conference match.
The Yotes won the odd sets, taking sets one, three and five, while the Broncos dominated play in the even sets with CSUSB prevailing 25-20, 16-25, 25-21, 15-25 and 15-8 to improve to 13-3 on the season and 6-2 in the CCAA.
The Broncos, winners of their first six CCAA contests, lost both road games this week, 3-0 to an improving San Francisco State team on Thursday and fell short against the Yotes to drop into a tie with the Yotes and San Francisco State for second place in the CCAA.
Cal State L.A. improved to 7-1 in the CCAA with a 3-0 sweep of Sonoma State Saturday night to take sole possession of the conference lead.
The victory by the Yotes extended their eight-year, regular season home winning streak to 69 straight matches dating back to Sept. 12, 2015. CSUSB improved its all-time series win margin over the Broncos to 47-28 in the 75 times the two teams have meet since the 1980s.
Hitting percentages for both teams were well below normal (.194 for Pomona and .188 for the Yotes), but the match turned on CSUSB's ability to seize control on the front line with 13 total blocks (20 block assists and two solo blocks) compared to 6.0 total blocks for the Broncos.
CSUSB two middle blockers –
Jenna Patton and
Taryn King -- combined for 11 block assists and solo blocks by King and
Ashley Robinson. In addition, the Yotes limited the Broncos Samantha Campion, ranked No. 1 in the conference in kills at 3.96 per set to just 10 kills on 40 attacks (.100 hit percentage). Campion contributed in other ways with five services aces and 19 digs. Jenna O'Shea, No. 2 in the CCAA in service aces, had none against the Yotes.
Four Yotes were in double figures in kills with Robinson and
Savannah Hoffmann leading with 13 while Patton and freshman outside hitter
Trinity Sheridan posted 10 kills apiece. Senior setter
Marlee Nunley posted another double-double with 35 assists and 14 digs to go with four block assists and two kills.
"Really proud of our team's effort tonight to pull out an exciting win," said Head Coach
Kim Cherniss. "
Jenna Patton was so good in the middle for us and
Marlee Nunley set the match like the veteran she is. I thought the team did an excellent job holding strong to the game plan we talked about before the match and really defended at a high level."
Cherniss also complimented graduate transfer from UC Davis,
Shira Lahav for her team-leading 18 digs, five assists and three service aces. "Shira once again proved what a valuable addition she is to this team with her leadership in the defensive role she plays."
For the Broncos, junior outside hitter Madison Novak picked up her teammates with a match high 19 kills on 52 attacks. Senior opposite hitter Daisy Duke, the 2022 CCAA player of the year and CCAA tournament MVP, posted 12 kills in 39 attacks (.179 hitting), two service aces and three block assists.
Caitie Mueller, the CCAA's leading setter with over 10 assists per set, contributed 42 assists, nine digs and two block assists for the Broncos.
In the deciding fifth set, with the score tied 4-4, King nailed a kill and Hoffmann followed with a kill of her town for a 6-4 lead, forcing a Broncos timeout. When play resumed, the Yotes extended their lead to 8-4 when King and Nunley blocked Campion and King followed with a solo block on Novak, forcing another Broncos timeout.
After CPP's Duke served up an ace to make it 9-7, CSUSB won the next five points on a Duke service error, a kill by Sheridan, a block of Campion's attack by King and Sheridan and a kill by Sheridan followed by a Robinson kill from an assist by King to set up match point. The Broncos' setter Mueller delivered a kill off an assist by Campion to make it 14-8, but the Broncos serving error by Campion ended the match 15-8 with the Yotes taking it 3-2.
The victory snapped a two-match losing streak to the Broncos who beat CSUSB in the post-season conference tournament in 2022 and again in the NCAA Div. II West Regional quarterfinals.
UP NEXT: The Yotes return to action in their home arena Thursday night at 7 p.m. against San Francisco State, which beat Cal State San Marcos 3-1 Saturday night to improve to 6-2 in the CCAA and 10-6 overall. The same two teams then travel to the Bay Area to play each other at 3 p.m. on Saturday in the Gators gym. Both matches will be streamed live on the CCAA network.
