October 2008 Archives
Cal State San Bernardino, coming off a 22-8 record and a share of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) regular-season title a year ago, has been ranked No. 20 in the 2008-09 NABC Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches Poll that was released on Thursday.
The Coyotes, who are also the preseason favorite to capture the 2009 CCAA title, received 40 points in the voting after finishing 14th in the 2007-08 final poll.
Findlay, Ohio, garnered the top spot in the NABC poll after concluding last season with a 28-5 mark. South Carolina Aiken was second and was followed by Bentley, Mass., Florida Southern and Augusta State.
Cal State San Bernardino received a Top 20 ranking despite losing three first-team All-CCAA performers in seniors Michael Earl, Lance Ortiz and Marlon Pierce. However, the Coyotes' roster will be strengthened by the addition of guards Devin Montgomery and DuBois Williams, who join the Coyotes after time at Division I institutions Pepperdine and Saint Mary's, respectively.
The 2008-09 season will begin November 7 when Humboldt State opens play in the Second Annual Disney Tip-Off Classic at the Anaheim Convention Center. CCAA play begins December 3 when Humboldt State hosts Sonoma State in Arcata, Calif.
The CCAA Tournament is slated for March 3-7 with the semifinals and finals scheduled for March 6 and 7 at Coussoulis Arena on the campus of Cal State San Bernardino.
2008-09 NABC/Division II Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Findlay, Ohio (8) - 28-5
2. South Carolina Aiken - 27-4
3. Bentley, Mass. - 34-1
4. Florida Southern - 24-9
5. Augusta State, Ga. - 27-7
6. Northern Kentucky - 21-8
7. Central Oklahoma - 28-6
8. Minnesota State - 22-7
9. Winona State, Minn. - 38-1
10. Gannon, Pa. - 26-5
11. Grand Valley State, Mich. - 36-1
12. Southwest Baptist, Mo. - 22-8
13. Central Washington - 21-7
14. LIU-C.W. Post, N.Y. - 26-5
15. North Alabama - 27-9
16. Northwest Missouri State - 24-8
17. Lenoir-Rhyne, N.C. - 23-7
18. Drury, Mo. - 25-6
19. Tarleton State, Texas - 25-7
20. Cal State-San Bernardino - 22-8
21. Mount Olive, N.C. - 24-7
22. Kentucky Wesleyan - 24-8
23. Brigham Young-Hawaii - 20-8
24. Fort Lewis, Colo. - 24-6
25. Pittsburgh-Johnstown, Pa. - 23-8
Others receiving votes: Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) 20, Ferris State (Mich.) 18, Bowie State (Md.) 17, Central Missouri 17, Philadelphia (Pa.) 17, Benedict (S.C.) 14, Catawba (N.C.) 14, Christian Brothers (Tenn.) 14, Northern State (S.D.) 13, Clayton State (Ga.) 11, Arkansas-Monticello 9, Valdosta State (Ga.) 8, Delta State (Miss.) 7, St. Edward's (Texas) 6, Virginia Union 6, Carson-Newman (Tenn.) 5, Metropolitan State (Colo.) 5, Montevallo (Ala.) 5, Armstrong Atlantic State (Ga.) 4, Pfeiffer (N.C.) 3, Northeastern State (Okla.) 2, Ashland (Ohio) 1, Millersville (Pa.) 1, Nebraska-Omaha 1.
Cal Poly Pomona senior forward Larry Gordon was named to the Division II Bulletin 2008-09 Preseason All-American team that was announced on Thursday.
Gordon was one of 16 players selected to the team that consists of two players from each of the eight regions throughout the country.
As a junior, Gordon led Cal Poly Pomona to the championship game of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) postseason tournament. The 6-foot-5 forward led the Broncos in scoring and was second in the CCAA after averaging 17.7 points and 9.1 rebounds a contest.
Cal Poly Pomona, which concluded the 2007-08 campaign with a 13-15 overall record, including a 10-10 mark in conference play, was selected to finish third in the 2008-09 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Broncos make their season debut on November 8 when they play an exhibition game at UC Irvine. Cal Poly Pomona opens its regular season on November 18 when it hosts Vanguard.
Division II Bulletin 2008-09 Preseason All-Americans
Super 16
East Kendrick Easley, Mount Olive
Ted Scott, West Virginia State
Great Lakes Jeff Bostic, Findlay (preseason player of the year)
Brandon Dagans, Lewis
Northeast Jason Westrol, Bentley
Jonathan Schmidt, C.W. Post
North Central Kevin Ratzsch, Northern State
Drake Beranek, Nebraska-Kearney
South Rob Eldridge, Florida Southern
Nick Kohs, Christian Brothers
South Atlantic Anthony Hilliard, Elizabeth City State
Chris Commons, South Carolin-Aiken
South Central Matthew Rogers, Southwest Baptist
Dejan Sencanski, Abilene Christian
West Larry Gordon, Cal Poly-Pomona
Lucas Alves, BYU-Hawaii
Honorable Mention
Malcolm Ingram, Philadelphia
Thomas Fraise, North Alabama
Antonio Houston, Catawba
Jake Morrow, Minnesota State
Hunter Henry, Northwest Missouri State
Stan Hall, Alderson-Broaddus
Ben Madgen, Augusta State
Billy Arre, Lock Haven
Lew Finnegan, Bentley
Kenny Boyd, Morehouse
Stephen Dennis, Kutztown
Garrett Siler, Augusta State
Tony Gugino, Hillsdale
Kenny Barker, Alaska Anchorage
Jesse Wagstaff, Metro State
Pierce Caldwell, Incarnate Word
Jason Genova, Lewis
Jake Linton, St. Martin's
Darren Duncan, Merrimack
Jake Beitinger, Central Washington
Williams, a senior from Riverside, Calif., led the Broncos to a pair of wins over Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus. In eight sets, Williams totaled 28 kills, two set assists, nine digs and 10 total blocks. She made just one error in 56 kill attempts for a .482 hitting percentage.
During a five-set match against Chico State, Williams collected 18 kills (no errors) in 35 attempts, eight digs and six blocks, while posting a .514 hitting percentage.
Williams came back on Saturday to register 10 kills and four blocks while registering a .429 hitting percentage during a three-set victory over Cal State Stanislaus.
Cal Poly Pomona returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts CCAA-leader Cal State San Bernardino beginning at 7 p.m.
Molten CCAA Women's Volleyball Player of the Week:
Aug. 25-31: Jessica Granados (Cal State San Bernardino); Sept. 1-7: Jessica Granados (Cal State San Bernardino); Sept. 8-14: Ursula Vieira (Cal State L.A.); Sept. 15-21: Joliann Arzadon (Humboldt State); Sept. 22-28: Sylvia Schmidt (UC San Diego); Sept. 29-Oct. 5: Sara Hoffman (Cal State San Bernardino); Oct. 6-12: Gabriela Bulawczyk (Cal State L.A.); Oct. 13-19: Gabriela Bulawczyk (Cal State L.A.); Oct. 20-26: Vanessa Williams (Cal Poly Pomona).
The Cal State San Bernardino volleyball team (18-3, 10-2) moved up a spot to No. 2 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll released Monday. The Coyotes moved ahead of Tampa, Fla., which lost over the weekend.
Reigning national champion Concordia-St. Paul, whom the Coyotes defeated in their season opener, are No. 1
The Coyotes are one of four teams from the CCAA who are ranked. Cal State Los Angeles (16-3, 9-3) went from 19 to 14 after beating UC San Diego, an outcome that also put the Coyotes along in first in the CCAA.
San Diego (15-4, 9-3) dropped from 13 to 16 and Cal Poly Pomona (12-5, 9-3) improved from 23 to 21.
Sonoma State (17-4, 9-3) and Chico State (15-7, 8-4) were in the receiving votes category.
The Coyotes hit the road this weekend for matches at Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State, both of whom they beat 3-0 in the first round of CCAA play.
Cal State San Bernardino's men's basketball team began the 2008-09 season Wednesday with 16 players reporting for the first official day of practice and finding they already have a big target on their backs.
The coaches of the California Collegiate Athletic Association have predicted a first-place finish in the CCAA for the Coyotes, last year's co-champs and winners of seven of the last nine conference titles.
Head Coach Jeff Oliver, beginning his seventh season at CSUSB, was slightly taken aback by the poll but honored that others think so highly of the program.
"I don't know how a team can be picked to win when the top scoring returner averaged 5.1 points a game while playing just 14 minutes a game," Oliver said.
"But, based on what we've done in the past (seven CCAA titles and three West Region titles in the last 10 years) I'm sure that's why they've put us in that position."
Oliver said the players are "in pretty good shape" coming out of pre-season conditioning drills. We have no injuries. Their legs are still good and not beat down."
With eight new players and two redshirts joining the squad, Oliver said the early going is going to be "a little rough."
"We have to really focus and teach the new guys what we are trying to accomplish on the floor. It's not easy. There are a lot of concepts that a foreign to a lot of the players, different than what they have been taught previously."
The Coyotes plan a defense-oriented strategy, the same kind of philosophies that carried them to a West Region title and NCAA Final Four appearance in 2006-07 and a shared CCAA title in 2007-08. "We'd be silly to get away from it," he said.
"When everybody is on the same page, we will definitely be a challenger in the conference," he added.
The team's top recruit, 6-7 Brandon Brown from
Despite that, Oliver is hoping that the team will be able to perform well enough offensively to offset any learning curve his team has on defense.
Among the key ingredients to get CSUSB started will be guard Tim Denson, a redshirt last season, whom Oliver thinks will be one of the top guard sin the conference and the region.
Other newcomers are 6-8 redshirt freshman Jordan Richard, 6-8 junior transfer Tavaris Gilbert, 6-5 junior transfer guard-forward Larry DeHughes, senior guard Devin Montgomery and junior guard Lawrence Tyson along with returning veterans 6-7 Devon Davis, 6-5 Reggie Brown, and 6-4 Phil Jones, all seniors and 6-4 sophomore Grants Huff.
One of the things that the Coyotes and other D-2 teams will contend with in 2008-09 is the new three-point line, moved one-foot back from the old line - 19 feet 9 inches to 20 feet 9 inches.
"I hope it helps us," said Oliver. "The three-pointer has helped a lot of our opponents stay in the game with us. We're hoping things will be different now that the shooting distance has been extended. It may even keep a handful of guys from shooting the three."
The Coyotes open the season on Nov. 7 with an exhibition game in Coussoulis Arena against
Cal State San Bernardino, ranked No. 3 in the nation and No. 2 in the Pacific Region, enters the weekend tied for the lead in the California Collegiate Athletic Association volleyball standings with 10 matches remaining in the regular season.
The opponents -
The Gators are 11-8 overall, 4-6 in the CCAA while the Otters are 6-14 overall and 2-8 in the CCAA.
The Coyotes, 16-2, 8-2 CCAA, have a nine-match, home-court winning streak to protect.
WEBSTREAMING - Both Coyotes volleyball matches this week will be webstreamed and shown live on
Cal State San Bernardino's 3-1 loss at the hands of Cal State L.A. last Saturday night was reflected in the first NCAA Division II Pacific Region poll that was released Wednesday - the Coyotes are No. 2.
CSUSB, ranked No. 1 in the nation for four weeks before losing to UC San Diego on Sept. 26, find themselves in the "Avis" spot in the regional poll with 10 matches remaining in the final month of the regular season.
The Tritons took the No. 1 spot in the region poll which determines the eight teams that advance to the NCAA Pacific Regional tournament on Nov. 20-22.
"We're positioned to do what we need to do in the final weeks of the season," said Head Coach Kim Cherniss. "I think the ranking is just.
Cherniss, whose team is 16-2 overall and 8-2 in the CCAA and tied for the lead going into this weekend's home matches against San Francisco State and Cal State Monterey Bay, said getting past the two Northern California invaders this week is a must.
"Then we have some matchups at home against the two teams that have beaten us," Cherniss said. UCSD is the visitor on Nov. 1 with Cal State L.A. coming in on Nov. 14 in the next-to-last match of the regular season.
Saturday's loss to Cal State L.A. dropped the Coyotes to No. 3 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association top 25 poll behind Concordia St. Paul (21-1) and
Somewhat surprising is the fact that
More surprising was that under the regional ranking formula which includes strength of schedule, the Vikings were ranked No. 9 in the first region poll despite a 13-1 record, 8-1 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
The top eight teams advance to the regional.
NCAA PACIFIC REGION TOP 10
1. UC San Diego (14-3, 11-2 in region); 2. COYOTES (16-2, 11-2); 3.
AVCA NCAA DIV. II TOP 25
1. Concordia St. Paul (21-1); 2.
11.
Cal State San Bernardino senior libero Meghan Haas is chasing the school's career record for digs.
The Menifee resident currently has 1,294, ranking her fourth behind Kim Ford (1,543 from 2000-2003), Jamie Lieveld (1,466 from 1997-2000) and Bridget Harris Crosby (1,458 from 2000-2003).
The No. 2 Coyotes (15-1, 7-1) have 12 matches left in the regular season. Whether Haas gets the record or not, she has left her mark on the program and coach Kim Cherniss. Her 554 in 2006 is the best mark for a single season and her 493 in 2007 is the second best. She also has the second, third, fourth and fifth best totals for a single match.
"She is the best defensive player we have ever had here," Cherniss said. "It may not seem like a glamorous position to those casual observers but those in volleyball know how important it is."
Making the run at the record even more impressive is that Haas has played just three years, having transferred from Louisiana Tech. The players ahead of her all played four years. The large numer of matches the Coyotes win 3-0 also works against her.
What has helped her is the chance to play six full rotations in the back. Two of the three ahead of her played both front and back.
But the Escondido native has made her mark in 2008 and played her finest match in her career Saturday night. She led the Broncos with a career-high 16 kills on a .268 night and three block assists as No. 21 Cal Poly Pomona handed visiting Sonoma State its first California Collegiate Athletic Association match loss of the season, 3-1 before 582 spectators in Darlene May Gymnasium.
The Broncos snapped their two-match losing streak - both against ranked teams - with their 25-16, 13-25, 25-16, 25-23 victory over the Seawolves (14-2 overall and 6-1 CCAA).
For the match the Broncos dominated on the attack with a 52-35 advantage in kills. They led on the block with 18 total blocks to Sonoma's 13.
Senior Anne-Marie Hofmans (Glendora) also had double figures in kills with 12, and teammate Vanessa Williams (Riverside) added 10. Williams added five block assists and added a solo block.
The Broncos fired a .400 attack percentage in the opening game, but stumbled in the second with a negative .081 percentage (10-13-37). They answered back with a solid .250 in the third (14-5-36) and outlasted the Seawolves in the fourth and deciding game.
Trailing 23-22 in the fourth, Diaz delivered a kill to tie the game and an attack error by Sonoma State gave the Broncos a one-point lead. It figured that Diaz would deliver the match winner as she delivered on a kill with the assist from setter Jasmine Davis (Pomona).
Ali Walker led the Seawolves with nine kills.
The Broncos are now 8-4 overall and 5-2 in the CCAA. They return to Darlene May Gymnasium on Saturday night with a match against Humboldt State. First serve is at 7 p.m.
Cal State San Bernardino used a right-left combination Friday night to sweep past
Jane Chafeh, the outside hitter on the left, and Jessica Granados, the right-side hitter, combined for 32 kills as the Coyotes won 25-18, 25-19, 25-18 to improve to 14-1 on the season and 6-1 in the CCAA.
The victory was not as easy as the score indicates. The score was tied seven times in set No. 3 and there were six lead changes before the Coyotes pulled away from a 17-17 deadlock to outscore Humboldt 8-1 down the stretch to close out the match.
In set one, the score was tied three times early before CSUSB forged a 14-9 lead only to have the Lumberjacks get back to within two at 15-13 and again at 19-17 and 20-18. However a service error and two bad sets gave CSUSB a 23-18 margin and Meghan Haas closed out the set with an ace.
In set two, CSUSB built a 15-10 lead but the Lumberjacks rallied to get within two at 20-18 on a service ace by Lynsey Adams. The Coyotes scored five of the next six points to close out the set on an ace by freshman Morgan Carty.
Humboldt State took an 11-10 lead in set three on a block by Toni Kroeker and Joliann Arzadon and led 15-13 on a kill by Kroeker. CSUSB tied the match at 15-all on a kill by Sara Rice. The set was tied again at 17-all on a Coyotes error but Chafeh's kill put CSUSB in front to stay at 18-17.
CSUSB setter Sara Hoffman (40 assists) scored on a dink and Haas followed with a service ace to make it 20-17. Kills by Chafey, Granados and Chafeh sandwiched around an HSU closed out the match.
Arzadon had a team-high seven kills and four block assists for HSU. Liz Shannon and Arzadon combined for 17 assists. Kroeker had a match-high five block assists. The Lumberjacks hit .145 for the match while CSUSB hit .255.
