Tritons Swept at No. 6 CSU San Bernardino, Await NCAA Selections on Sunday

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Poor hitting by the UC San Diego women’s volleyball team led to the demise of its 11-match win streak as No. 6 Cal State San Bernardino swept the Tritons 25-14, 25-19 and 25-18 Saturday at Coussoulis Arena. It was the 12th consecutive victory for the Coyotes.

Saturday marked the final day of CCAA competition around the league. CSUSB, which had already wrapped up the conference title, finished its regular season at 25-2 overall and 21-1in the CCAA. UCSD finished its regular season at 18-8 and 15-7.

For the second week in a row, UCSD was ranked fourth in the NCAA West Regional poll. The Tritons’ position should lead them to their fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

The 2010 NCAA Division II Women’s Volleyball Championship selections announcement will be streamed online via NCAA.com at 10 p.m. Eastern time, Sunday, November 14. The bracket will be posted on the NCAA website, NCAA.com shortly after the completion of the announcement.

Against San Bernardino, Katie Condon, Kaitlin Potter and Hillary Williamson all contributed seven kills for the Tritons, who attacked at just .120 (37-23-117) for the match. Roxanne Brunsting had a match-high 12 digs. She also posted 16 assists in splitting time at setter with Thalia McCann, who had 13 helpers.

The Coyotes hit a solid .384 (43-5-99), backed by 12 kills and no errors from Nicole Moore. Jane Chafeh and Samantha Middleborn each had nine kills, while Chafeh also added a team-high 10 digs. The Coyotes had their block working as they held a 10-1 advantage in stuffs. Megan Johnson had five blocks, Middleborn had four and Chafeh contributed three.

CSU San Bernardino dominated the first two sets, out-hitting UC San Diego .448 (15-2-29) to .172 (10-5-29) in the opener and .306 (12-1-36) to .062 (15-12-48) in the second. The Coyotes never trailed in either set and jumped out to a 4-0 start in the second frame.

UCSD’s only lead of the night would come in the third set. Down 1-0, the Tritons scored three unanswered points to take a 3-1 lead. Following a CSUSB service error, Janessa Werhane served up an ace and a Coyote attack error put UCSD up by the two points. The Tritons held their lead until 10-5, when the Coyotes reeled off four straight points to get within one at 10-9. After trading points, CSUSB tied the set at 11-11 on blocks by Johnson and Moore. A Danielle Newcombe ace gave San Bernardino the lead at 12-11 and the Coyotes wouldn’t trail again.

Cal State San Bernardino finished with a .412 (16-2-34) attack percentage in the third set. UC San Diego swung at .150 (12-6-40).

The win also gave the season series to the Coyotes as San Bernardino defeated UCSD 3-1 at RIMAC Arena in early October.

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