Thursday, December 2, 2021

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Alaska Anchorage gave the defending national champions a fight through the first two sets but Cal State San Bernardino would not be beaten on its own floor as the Coyotes cruised in the final two to defeat the Seawolves in four sets in the quarterfinals of the NCAA West Regional at Coussoulis Arena.

The No. 8 seeded Seawolves saw a first-set lead slip away before pulling out a close second set that saw 17 ties and eight lead changes. The tide turned in the final two sets with the No. 1 seeded Coyotes winning by 14 points in the third and eight points in the fourth. Cal State San Bernardino hit a solid .312 for the match.

Junior opposite Eve Stephens led Alaska Anchorage, falling just short of a double-double with 16 kills, nine digs and three blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Lisa Jaunet finished with seven kills. Junior setter Ellen Floyd finished with 33 assists.

Alexis Cardoza, the consensus West Region Player of the Year, led Cal State San Bernardino with 26 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Melissa Garciglia finished with 13 kills and Marlee Nunley connected for 50 assists.

With the loss, Alaska Anchorage finishes the season with a 19-12 record. Cal State San Bernardino (26-4) moves on to face Cal State LA in the semifinals on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Each match in the quarterfinals proved to be a battle and Alaska Anchorage made sure that the last one fit the bill. The Seawolves jumped out to an 8-4 first-set lead on a CSUSB attack error and extended it to 14-6 on a pair of blocks Akor Maywin and Stephens and a kill by Jaunet.

Alaska Anchorage continued to hold a five-point lead at 21-16 before the Coyotes roared back. Cardoza’s sixth and seventh kill of the stanza bookended a five-point run that gave CSUSB a 23-22 lead. The teams traded points before Marlee Nunley landed a service ace for the win.

The Coyotes jumped out to the early second-set lead, going ahead 10-7 on Jalyn Hayes’ block, and this time it was the Seawolves that mounted the comeback. A four-point run gave UAA a 13-11 lead buoyed by two kills by Stephens and one by Maywin. An attack error brought things even at 13-13 and neither team would lead by more than a point until late. With the score tied 25-25, a setting error and a Stephens kill tilted the set in favor of UAA.

The third set was all San Bernardino with the home team jumping out to an 8-2 lead on back-to-back kills by Garciglia. Alaska Anchorage came back to within three on an attack error but the Coyotes ripped off a five-point at that point and took a 16-7 lead on a Jenna Patton kill. The Seawolves won just two more points off their own serve in the set with CSUSB putting it away with a seven-point that opened a 23-8 lead.

Neither team led by more than three points early in the fourth set the Seawolves holding a 10-8 lead on a Stephens kill. The Coyotes used a five-point run, fueled a pair of aces, to take the lead for good at 13-10. Alaska Anchorage’s production was limited to just two more points off of their own serve as the Coyotes slowly extended the advantage to the final eight-point margin.