California State University of San Bernardino Athletics

Kim Cherniss was named head coach of the CSUSB volleyball program in 1991, and has since become one of the most decorated volleyball coaches at the NCAA Division II level. Over the past 32 seasons, Cherniss has collected 731 career wins with a dominating .756 career win percentage, highlighted by a national championship in 2019 that saw the Yotes go a perfect 33-0. This was just the third time in the history of Division II volleyball that a team went undefeated in a season.  
 
Cherniss’ legacy at CSUSB extends far beyond the magical 2019 run, as she was also named 2008 AVCA NCAA Division II Coach of the Year, five-time AVCA West Region Coach of the Year, nine-time CCAA Coach of the Year, coached a staggering 45 All-Americans, 119 All-CCAA honorees, 11 CCAA Players of the Year, as well as six student-athletes named AVCA National Player of the Year.
 
She has coached the Yotes to the NCAA Tournament in each of the past 22 consecutive seasons, and her teams have won at least 20 matches in each of the last 25 seasons. The team is 54-22 (.711) in NCAA DII Tournament play, having more than double the wins of the next closest team in the conference in the postseason. The Yotes have become a source of pride, both in the community of San Bernardino and the CSUSB campus for their excellence on the court of play.
 
Cal State San Bernardino athletics transitioned to Division II before the 1991 season, making Cherniss the only coach in CSUSB’s Division II era. The Yotes have dominated the CCAA since joining, including eight consecutive conference titles (2006-2013) and five consecutive conference tournament titles (2016-2021).
 
In 2011, the Coyotes finished the regular season unbeaten (28-0) and CCAA play undefeated (22-0) for a then record-setting season. They established a record 32-match winning streak and earned their fourth consecutive NCAA West Region title and finished second in the country in the NCAA Championships, played in Coussoulis Arena. The Coyotes, led by two-time National Player of the Year Samantha Middleborn, earned their sixth consecutive CCAA title and ninth in history.
 
In 2010, the Coyotes compiled a 28-3 record and advanced to the NCAA National finals for the third-straight year and fifth time in the last eight seasons. CSUSB had four All-Americans, led by junior National Player of the Year Samantha Middleborn, who became CSUSB's first consensus Player of the Year (AVCA and Daktronics).

Her 2008 team went 30-4, won the CCAA for the third-straight year and sixth time in the last eight years, then won the West Regional for the third time and advanced to the NCAA championship match for the first time in the history of the program, losing to Concordia-St. Paul, 3-2, in the title match in St. Paul, Minn.
 
Cherniss picked up her 600th career win in the 2016 NCAA West Region opening round with a 3-1 victory over Central Washington in Anchorage, Alaska. She then picked up her 700th career win on October 16th, 2021 in a 3-1 win over Cal Poly Pomona – a night that also honored the 2019 national championship team with a ring ceremony and banner unveiling before the match.
 
In both 2009 and 2019, Danny Scott was named the Division II Assistant Coach of the Year.
 
During her playing career, Cherniss was a two-time All-America selection at UC Riverside. She was a member of the Highlanders’ 1982 NCAA championship team. She was inducted into the UCR Sports Hall of Fame in 1991, the same year she began coaching the Coyotes. She also played two years of pro ball with the San Bernardino Jazz.
 
She is a 1986 graduate of UC Riverside and received her California teaching credential in physical education in 1993.
 
Cherniss began her coaching career as head coach of a professional team in France. She helps coach club volleyball for age group players at the Rancho Valley Club in Rancho Cucamonga, along with her assistant coach, Danny Scott.
 
Cherniss and her husband, Pete, a teacher at Riverside Poly High, reside in Reche Canyon. Their daughter, Jordan, currently plays volleyball at Northern Arizona University.

*CCAA Champions