California State University of San Bernardino Athletics

ARCATA, Calif. - The #24 California State University San Bernardino suffered a five-set defeat at the hands of Cal Poly Humboldt Thursday evening in California Collegiate Athletic Association action at Lumberjack Arena. Set scores were 23-25, 25-23, 25-20, 17-25, and 15-8.

With the defeat, CSUSB falls to 8-6 overall on the season and 4-3 in CCAA play.

The Coyotes used 11 kills with only two errors to eke out a 25-23 victory in the first set of the evening. Senior Ashley Robinson (Tucson, Ariz.) had six kills in the set, while sophomore Allison Legates (Los Altos, Calif.) chipped in a pair of solo blocks.

Robinson's seven kills and CSUSB's match-high .282 attack percentage were not enough to get the Yotes over the top in set number two. The set featured five ties and two lead changes, but ultimately the Coyotes could not stretch their lead to a pair of sets.

Humboldt scored 11 of set three's first 13 points and never looked back to take their first lead of the evening. Trailing 19-8, the Yotes responded with a 10-2 run to make things interesting at 21-18, but that would be as close as they would get, falling 25-20.

San Bernardino forced a deciding set with a dominant set four performance. M'Kera Drake (San Bernardino, Calif.) posted four kills on just six attacks in the set, while Savannah Hoffmann (Rialto, Calif.) had three kills on six attacks, both without an error, to push the match to a winner-take-all fifth.

The teams battled back and forth in the early stages of set five, but a 5-0 Lumberjack run that began when they were already ahead 9-7 spelled the end of the night for the Coyotes, putting the contest out of reach.

Robinson finished the evening with 24 kills to lead CSUSB. She also notched 18 digs in the defeat. 

Drake had an enormous night, posting 10 kills without an error on just 14 attempts for an astounding .714 attack percentage. 

Junior libero Abbey Clarke (Oswego, Ill.) led the way defensively, leading all players with 21 digs. She also had six assists and a service ace.

CSUSB will next hit the floor on Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. first service from Sonoma State.
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