DENVER – In Saturday's NCAA Division II National Volleyball Championship match, someone will lose for the first time all season.
Top-ranked Cal State San Bernardino made sure there would be a matchup of unbeatens in the final by withstanding hometown Regis in Friday's second semifinal for a 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-17, 25-17) victory.
The Coyotes (32-0) played second-ranked Nebraska-Kearney (38-0) at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Auraria Event Center.
"I think it's kind of cool," Cherniss said. "That's what it should be. It leaves no questions. Both teams have to put their best forward and there will be one team left undefeated. That's a neat thing for Division II volleyball. It was nice practice to play in front of a boisterous crowd, because I have a feeling we're going to be seeing that tomorrow (Nebraska-Kearney also has a large following in Denver).
"Credit to our kids, it doesn't really faze them. I'm excited to be playing a great match. They have a little bit different style than Regis, so we'll have to make some adjustments, but I'm confidence in our girls' ability to do that."
All-American Alexis Cardoza had 22 kills with a .315 hitting percentage and the Coyotes hit .306, including .545by Lydia Morohunfola (seven kills) and .421 by Jalyn Hayes (10 kills). Hayes also had seven blocks (one solo).
Both teams hit better than .400 in their quarterfinal matches, but Regis was held to .216 Friday.
"We were definitely anxious to play them, because we felt like they were the hot team in the tournament and they present all sorts of challenges," Cherniss said. "So congratulations to them on a fantastic season. They're so well-coached. They aren't afraid to take chances and make adjustments, and they can score from anywhere.
"It was an exciting match to coach in and to watch our players."
Regis (26-5) got 12 kills each from Nikki Kennedy and Kelsey Green, 11 by Kristen Hornung and 10 by Caitlyn Burroway. Kennedy had five blocks (two solo).
"It was a fun match," Regis coach Joel List said. "We thought it would be a slugfest, and hat's off to San Bernardino, it was what I thought it would be – back-and-forth, scrappy plays. They did not let the ball touch the ground. You can tell they are on a mission. We were on a mission as well, but it just didn't go our way. They got us out of system, did a very good job of that with their serve."
