I have been watching the Cal State San Bernardino volleyball team play for the last five years. I have always been impressed with the level of play and the character of the players Kim Cherniss brings in.

Forget conference titles. The program has reached elite status to where it is now competing for a national title every year.

The Coyotes have reached the regional championship nine straight years but has gotten over the hump and qualified for nationals just twice – 2003 and 2004. The biggest problem has been that the Coyotes have to get out of the toughest region in the country.

I wasn’t ready to call this team better than last year’s team . . . until last night. The Coyotes graduated just two players but one of those was Sharea Drawn, a dominant blocker. That’s one area where I didn’t think the Coyotes were as good as they were last year.

But the Coyotes dominated a quality Cal State L.A. team 25-20, 25-18, 25-22. The reason was blocking and one of the key contributors was freshman Samantha Middleborn out of Carter High School.

Cherniss has a way of bringing along her freshmen players. Middleborn looks like the latest in a long line of newcomers who have improved tremendously over the course of a rookie season.

Maybe this can be the year the Coyotes finally get over the hump and get back to nationals. They certainly appear to be peaking at the right time.

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