Thursday, December 1, 2016

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Second-seeded Cal State San Bernardino got 22 kills and 17 digs from outside hitter Lauren Nicholson and 55 assists from setter Jayann DeHoog to outlast 7th-seeded Central Washington, 25-15, 25-23, 16-25, 25-19 on Thursday in the NCAA Div. II West Regional Volleyball Championships first round at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The nationally 14th-ranked Coyotes (25-4) – champions of the California Collegiate Athletic Association – also got 15 kills on .545 hitting from middle blocker Hailey Jackson to extend their winning streak to 16 and advance to the NCAA Tournament regional semifinals for the 17th year in row.

The Wildcats (17-12) were led by 15 kills and nine digs from Shelby Mauritson, plus a match-high 21 digs from libero Kyla Morgan. The top blocking team in Division II, averaging over three per set, was limited to just six team blocks in the four sets paced by four by Sabrina Wheelhouse.

Cal State San Bernardino, which earned head coach Kim Cherniss’s 600th career win, will face nationally 16th-ranked and 3rd-seeded Western Washington in Friday’s 5 p.m. AST regional semifinal. The showdown will be a rematch of last year’s West Region final, won by WWU in five sets.