DENVER – Top-ranked, top-seeded and undefeated Cal State San Bernardino flirted with an NCAA Division II national tournament record for hitting percentage in dispatching Molloy (N.Y.) 3-0 (25-16, 25-9, 25-18).
 
"I'm really happy with our team for being relatively low-error, for the first match out of the gate," Coyotes coach Kim Cherniss said. "That's not always an easy thing to do at this tournament. Sometimes it's tough to control the nerves and you end up serving abysmally or being off in any number of categories. But I think we controlled that fairly well and were able to hit for a high percentage, which is something that's important to us."
 
Cal State San Bernardino (31-0) hit .467 for the match after hitting well above .500 until late in the third set. The Division II tournament record for hitting percentage in a match is .542 by Portland State against James Madison in a 1984 first-round contest.
 
All-American Alexis Cardoza had 17 kills while hitting .630, Jalyn Hayes had eight kills on .538 hitting and added seven blocks (two solo), and Moira Murphy hit .600 with six kills.
 
The Coyotes will face Regis (27-4) in a national semifinal Friday at 7:30 p.m.
 
Hometown Regis hit .430 in sweeping St. Leo (Fla.) in another Thursday quarterfinal.
 
Carly Banks had 11 kills for Molloy (28-5), which three seasons ago was 6-24.
 
"It was a great experience to get this far," Molloy coach Kevin DesLauriers said. "Obviously, we knew that the other side of the net was terribly talented, and we had to go out there and make some plays just to keep ourselves in the game. We had a couple of kids perform at a very high level, but we didn't have enough who were there for us to be able to put some pressure on them."