#22 Coyotes outscrap Wildcats in 5
ANCHORAGE – Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Nicholson collected five of her 22 kills in the deciding fifth set and added 23 digs Friday to help propel nationally 22nd-ranked Cal State San Bernardino to a 25-18, 23-25, 25-21, 25-27, 15-9 win over Central Washington in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Div. II West Regional Volleyball Championships at the Alaska Airlines Center.
The No. 4 seed Coyotes (27-5) also got a match-high 24 kills on .350 hitting and 13 digs from all-conference hitter Alexandra Torline, while setter Jayann DeHoog picked up 62 assists.
The No. 5 seed Wildcats (20-8) nearly got a triple-double from senior setter Caite Fry, who had nine kills on .692 hitting, 49 assists and 10 digs. Senior middle blocker Caitlin Quirk paced Central’s offense with 14 kills, and libero Lindsey Milner managed 22 digs.
The match went the distance thanks to a pair of late Central Washington rallies as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference club erased 23-19 deficits in both the second and fourth sets.
CSUSB took over in the fifth, however, getting five kills apiece from Torline and Nicholson to out-hit their foes .417 to .071 in the frame.
The Coyotes move on to Saturday’s 8:30 p.m. semifinal match against the winner of tonight’s late contest between Dixie State and top-seeded Alaska Anchorage.
