November 2008 Archives

The University of Redlands Bulldogs earned their first win of the 2008-09 season by defeating La Sierra University at home, 87-68. Redlands relied on solid shooting throughout the game, posting an overall field-goal percentage of 50.8%, with five players in double figures.

After a three-point lead at the half, the Bulldogs opened up the game midway through the second, gaining a lead by as many as 20 points.

Redlands looked to Bryan Schwartz to pace the team with 17 points on f5-for-8 shooting. Matt Dietrich and Alex Wolpe contributed 15 points each, while Patrick Coffey and Travis Miller put 11 points away.

La Sierra gained 17 points from Daniel Noga and 16 points from Joshua Crouch.

The Bulldogs look forward to hosting the 61st Annual Lee Fulmer Memorial Men's Basketball Tournament on December 4-6. Redlands tips off against UC Santa Cruz on the 4th at 8 p.m.

WOODLAND HILLS - The Chaffey College volleyball team got a taste of
the playoffs for the first time in nearly two decades. Unfortunately
the foe on the other side of the net was the No. 1 ranked team in the
South.

The result was expected as the 16th-seeded Panthers fell to
top-seeded Los Angeles Pierce 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-10) in first
round playoff action Tuesday night in Woodland Hills.

It was the 25th straight win for the Brahmas (30-1) with 21 of those
coming in sweeps. It was also the 61st straight win at home, dating
back to October of the 2002 season.

``I thought we played tough early on but they just wore us out,''
Chaffey coach Larry Chowen said. ``We gave it our best shot. No one
expected us to win. It was more the mental mistakes. We make those
more than we make physical ones.''

The task at hand was tough enough. But it was made tougher when
starting sophomore outside hitter Nikita Johnson became ineligible
earlier in the day. That forced Chowen to alter his starting lineup,
moving sophomore Tara Sawyer from middle to outside and inserting
Oqueisha Wilson in Sawyer's vacated spot.

``That's a pretty tough adjustment to make on the fly,'' Chowen said.
``I am asking girls to come and do something they haven't done all
season. I think we did alright considering that.''

Chaffey (16-10) was in striking distance in the opener early, only
trailing by one at 8-7. But the Brahmas went on a 10-3 run and went
up 18-10 on a block by Janet Alvarado and Kameron Ward on Colleen
Chauncey. They secured the game soon after when the Panthers netted a
return of serve.

The Panthers were most competitive in the second game. The set was
even at 14 but the Panthers edged ahead on a hitting error by the
Brahmas' Vanessa Murray. The visitors made it 16-14 moments later on
a kill by Breanna Mayes.

That lead was short-lived however. Pierce came back with a Chaffey
service error cutting its lead to one. Murray followed with winners
on three straight points, the third of which gave the Brahmas an
18-16 advantage. Pierce tallied nine of the next 10 points and took a
2-0 lead on spike by Natasha Wilroy.

``The second game gave us a lot of confidence,'' freshman libero
Christine Luna said. ``They learn the same things we do. They dress
the same way we do. I don't think we were intimated. We just made
mistakes. This is a new experience for us. Next time we'll know what
it takes.''

Chaffey, the Foothill Conference champion, was never in the third
game. The Brahmas surged out to a 16-3 lead and never looked back.
Coach Nabil Mardini substituted the rest of the way with Brittany
Sousa collecting five kills in the last half of the game.


The Brahmas, who have won the last eight Western States Conference
titles, were led by Murray with 12 kills. Alvarado added nine and
Lisa Sonnenblink six.

The Panthers were led by Mayes with six kills and two total blocks.
Sawyer chipped in with four kills and three blocks. Luna anchored the
defense with 11 kills.

``It was good to get this far,'' Luna said. ``We should come back
stronger next year.''

The NCAA has spoken. And it will be Concordia-St. Paul hosting the Division II Volleyball Elite Eight. Cal State San Bernardino had hoped to get the nod and it looked good for awhile.

Technically the NCAA is supposed to give each region a chance. The West hasn't had it since Cal State hosted in 2003. The Central had it two years ago when Nebraska-Kearney won it. But the NCAA felt strong enough about Concordia to give them the right again so soon.

It likely put up a pretty good guarantee since it knew it had a title contender with the current No. 1 ranking. And the Bears drew almost 2,000 for their regional final which has to carry some weight. Cal State drew 900.

This Coyote team appears focused, far more focused than any of the previous four teams i have covered. And the draw sets up favorably. First the Coyotes get California-Penn. which came out of a weak Atlantic Region.

The bottom of the bracket, from which the Coyotes potential semifinal opponent would come, had some upsets. In fact a No. 6 regional seed (Nova) advanced. The Coyotes wouldn't see the host team till the final.

The stars all seem aligned.

The No. 16 University of Redlands men's water polo team won three straight games despite falling to fifth-seeded No. 15 Santa Clara University in its opening game of the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Championships on Friday to ensure a fifth-place finish in the three-day postseason tournament.

 

The championship tournament, which took place at Claremont Mudd-Scripps Colleges from Nov. 21-23, included a 10-team field: No. 8 Loyola Marymount University, No. 9 UC San Diego, No. 11 UC Davis, Redlands, Santa Clara, the No. 20 U.S. Air Force Academy (CO), Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, Chapman University and UC Santa Cruz.

 

A three-goal effort by senior driver Andrew Becskehazy (Miami, FL) on Friday fell just short of lifting the Bulldogs over Santa Clara. Redlands led 7-6 at the half, but the Broncos netted four second-half goals to the maroon and gray's two to edge Redlands 10-9 in the first-round matchup.

 

Becskehazy led the way again in Redlands' second game, which took place on Saturday, but this time, the Bulldogs prevailed, crushing UC Santa Cruz by a 13-5 final.

 

Redlands defeated the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) champions, Pomona-Pitzer, with ease in its second contest on Saturday, advancing to the fifth-place game after winning 11-5.

 

Sunday's game against Air Force featured a high offensive output from both teams, and the score was knotted at 10 at the end of regulation. The Bulldogs scored three goals to the Falcons' one in the first overtime period, giving Redlands the 13-11 win. Senior utility player Buddy Olds (Murrieta, CA) finished out his collegiate water polo career playing the role of the hero, scoring a team-high three goals.

 

Becskehazy wrote a storybook ending to an illustrious Bulldog water polo career, leading the team in its four games with nine goals. Junior center Brendan Meaney (Palm Desert, CA) scored seven goals while Olds and sophomore defender Andrew Smith-Jones (Annapolis, MD) compiled six apiece to supplement Becskehazy's offensive success. Also scoring for Redlands were senior defender Jon Rielly (Vista, CA), sophomore center Miran Terzic (Mostar, Bosna i Hercegovina), junior utility player Brent Dotters (Porterville, CA) with three, junior driver Taylor Swyers (St. Louis, MO), senior utility player Jim Kehrig (Danville, CA), junior defender John Floersch (San Jose, CA) and junior utility player Ian Starkie (Arroyo Grande, CA) with two and junior center Ben Taylor (Porterville, CA) with one.

 

In goal, senior goalkeeper Teddy Trowbridge (Mercer Island, WA) saved a team-high 18 shots while junior goalkeeper Jack Amaral (Porterville, CA) also saw action between the posts and tallied 11 saves.

 

Redlands closed out its excellent season with a 29-9 record, including a 9-1 mark in conference games.

The University of La Verne's bid for a fourth national championship
in women's volleyball came up just short as the Leopards fell to
Emory University (Ga.) 3-1 (16-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-22) in the
Division III title match Saturday at the Shirk Center on the campus
of Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington, Ill.

La Verne (27-3) came into the tournament ranked No. 4 nationally but
seeded second in the field. The Leopards earned a spot in the final
with a dramatic 3-2 win over No. 1 Juniata in Friday's semifinal.

Coach Don Flora was thrilled with his team's showing. The Leopards
have just two seniors and started four new players this season.

``It's a little hard to see the forest through the trees right now,''
he said. ``But the forest is planted and it's growing well.''

La Verne hit .224 on the night and was again led by senior Brianna
Gonzales with 18 kills. Junior Crista Jones added 16 but no other
Leopard had more than three.

The Leopards came out hot, hitting .345 in an opening game they
dominated. It was even at 5-all but La Verne went on a 14-4 run with
that stretch including four kills by Gonzales, three by Jones and two
service aces by Chelsea Sleight. It later ended on a winner by Anna
Calmer.

``We started out real clean. It was fun to watch,'' Flora added. ``We
have talked about calm and intensity and here we were in a national
championship and the girls showed so much poise.''


La Verne led the second set 12-11 on a kill by Gonzales but the
Eagles eventually went ahead 13-12 on a service ace by Kelsey Kryston
and didn't trail again. They led by as many as four at 23-19 and at
24-20 and evened the match at one set each on a winner by Amelia
McCall.

Emory (35-6) also took the third game. Up 11-9 the Eagles tallied
five of the next six points and going up 16-10 on a spike by senior
Maggie Baird. The Leopards hit just .087 in the game and were not in
striking distance again.

The fourth game was tight the entire way. It was even at 22 but the
Eagles went up on kill by Maggie Baird. They got their first match
point on senior Dani Huffman's block of a spike by Jones. Baird then
converted on Emory's first match point.

It was the second meeting this season between the two teams. Emory
defeated La Verne 3-2 in a tournament the Leopards hosted at the
Frantz Athletic Court on Oct 11.

It was the first national title for Emory which outlasted No. 8 Ohio
Northern 3-2 in Friday's semifinal.

Huffman was named tournament MVP. Gonzales and Jones also made the
all-tournament team.

The San Bernardino Valley College men's cross country team is the state champion -- again.

The Wolverines captured their third straight community college state title Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. The Wolverines had three runners in the top 10 and five in the top 25.

SBVC had a total of 50 points, 27 more than runner-up San Diego Mesa. Rounding out the top five were Orange Coast (147), Rio Hondo (172) and Mt. SAC (210).

"It feels great," coach Wes Ashford said. "Every year is a new year so it's different. I'm just happy for the kids because they worked hard to get here."

Sophomore Carlos Perez led the effort, finishing third over the four-mile course in 20:19.05. He also placed third individually last year. It is his fourth straight state title, dating back to his CIF championship teams his last two years at Barstow High School.

Sophomore Matt Sartori, another holdover from last year's team, was fifth (20:23.85). Also scoring for the Wolverines were Jared Bain (10th in 20:36.58), Art Parra (18th 20:56.06) and Manuel Bueno (21st in 20:5926).

The non-scoring runners were Ankur Joshi (25th in 21:02.01) and Ronell El-Amin (35th in 21:09.72).

"We felt good warming up but you never know what the other teams are going to do so I told them just to focus on ourselves and running our own race," Ashford said.

The Wolverines, who won the Foothill Conference and Southern California Regionals earlier this season, both by wide margins, celebrated by racing go-karts and playing laser tag at a nearby gaming facility before heading home.

"I promised them if they won they could mess around and have a little fun," Ashford said.

Freshman A.J. Pulice of Victor Valley qualified as an individual. He placed 69th (21:34.87) out of 199 runners.

Orange Coast won the women's title with 84 points, just edging out second-place Glendale (86).

Victor Valley qualified two girls, as Melissa Hernandez was 64th (19:64.06) and Monique Hoover was 71st (20:07.64) out of 191 athletes.

Cal Poly Pomona senior Vanessa Williams (Riverside) was named Monday to the first team on the 2008 Daktronics West Region Volleyball All-Star Team.

Williams led this year's Broncos to the 2008 NCAA West Region championship match Saturday, where CPP lost to No. 2 Cal State San Bernardino. The Broncos were 20-8 this season and ranked in the Bison/AVCA Coaches Top 25 poll all 12 weeks of regular-season play. They tied for second place in the CCAA with a 15-5 record.

The 6-foot-1 Williams led the Broncos in several categories this season including kills (292), hitting percentage (.304), solo blocks (15) and block assists (133). In the most recent NCAA rankings, she was third in blocks/game and ranked first in blocks/game and fifth in hitting percentage in the CCAA. She was named first-team All-CCAA for the second straight year and earned West Region All-Tournament honors.

She also was a two-time CCAA Player of the Week honoree.

By virtue of her first-team status, Williams now moves on to the national All-America ballot. Voting is coordinated by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The All-American team will be announced Dec. 4.

Cal State San Bernardino's Jessica Granados has been voted the Daktronics/NCAA Division II West Region player of the year for the second straight year it was announced Monday.

Granados, the two-time California Collegiate Athletic Association player of the year, received the most votes in player of year balloting by sports information directors of the region's universities and colleges.

The 6-1 right-side hitter from Beaumont (Beaumont HS) is averaging 4.22 kills per set with a total of 392 kills in 93 sets covering 31 matches as the Coyotes prepare to compete in the NCAA National Championship Tournament on Dec. 4-6 at Concordia-St. Paul, Minn.

Also voted to the first team were teammates Sara Hoffman, a junior setter from San Clemente, and Meghan Haas, a senior libero from Menifee. Senior middle blocker Sara Rice was voted to the Daktronics all-region second team.

Granados is hitting .317 for the season with 29 service aces and 1.88 digs per set and 59 blocks. Her kills per set ratio ranks her No. 9 in the nation in that category.

This is her third straight year as a member of the Daktronics all-region first team.

She was a first-team All-American in 2007 as well as first-team American Volleyball Coaches Association all-region first team.

Granados was among four Coyotes voted to the West Regional all-tournament team following Saturday's 3-0 win over Cal Poly Pomona in the title match.

She currently ranks No. 4 on the CSUSB career kills list with 1,255.

Hoffman ranks No. 7 in the nation in assists per set at 11.52. She has 1,094 for the season and her 2,901 career assists is No. 4 on the Coyotes' career list. Hoffman was an all-CCAA first team selection this season and a Daktronics all-West Region first team pick in 2008 amd 2007

Haas has covered the back line like a blanket this season, averaging 4.62 digs per match and a total of 462 for the season in 31 matches. She also has produced a team-high 34 service aces. She was named to the all-CCAA first team and the West Regional all-tournament team in 2008 and the Daktronics all-region second team in 2006.

            The 6-foot senior has 1,509 career digs, No. 2 on the CSUSB career list. She needs 35 digs in the national championship tournament to surpass Kim Ford (2000-03) as the all-time Coyotes digs leader.

            Rice is among the national leaders in hitting percentage at .414, averaging 2.37 kills and 0.71 blocks per game with 66 blocks to her credit. She has been an all-CCAA first team pick the past two seasons. She was a CCAA player of the week and was named to the West Regional all-tournament team this past weekend.

            The 6-foot former Yucaipa High School star is hitting .369 over her last three seasons with 195 block assists and 30 solo blocks.

 

 

The Cal State San Bernardino volleyball team had been hoping to take a shot at a national title on its home floor but the No. 2 Coyotes will be hitting the road after all.

The privilege of hosting the Elite Eight Dec. 4-6 was awarded to Central Region champion Concordia-St. Paul, the defending national champion and current No. 1 according to the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

Cal State submitted a bid to host and athletic director Kevin Hatcher thought his team had a good shot at getting the nod but took the news in stride.

"We would be disappointed if we were No. 1 and didn't get the bid. That's the only way to look at it," he said. "We just have to make sure and bring our winter clothes."

The NCAA likes to move the event to a different region each year. The Coyotes hosted in 2003. Sites since then include Barry University in Miami (2004), Nebraska-Kearney (2005), West Florida (2006) and Washburn University in Kansas (2007).

"From a cost standpoint its easier if they have it somewhere more in the middle," Coyotes coach Kim Cherniss said. "We're on one extreme so that probably works against is. I'm sure the Eastern schools feel the same way."

The Coyotes (28-3) polished off local rival Cal Poly Pomona 3-0 Saturday night in the West Region title match to earn a spot in the national quarterfinal for the third time in the last seven years.

In 2003 the Coyotes lost the semifinal to Concordia-St. Paul. A year later they were eliminated in the quarterfinal by Nebraska-Kearney.

The eight-team draw was also finalized. The Coyotes quarterfinal foe will be Atlantic Region champion California University of Pennsylvania (40-1). The No. 17 Vulcans will also be playing in the Elite Eight for the third time. They lost the quarterfinal to Concordia last season.

The Atlantic Region typically has not been one of the most competitive but Cherniss isn't taking its representative lightly.

"The word is champion. They're a champion," she said. "Anyone that wins a championship is playing their best volleyball at this time of the season. You have to respect that."

Other quarterfinals will pit No. 8 Truman (32-7) against unranked Nova Southeastern (24-1), No. 3 Grand Valley State (32-3) against unranked Armstrong Atlantic (26-8) and unranked New Haven (31-3) against host Concordia-St. Paul (34-1).

If the Coyotes were to win their quarterfinal they would meet the Truman-Nova winner in the semifinal.

Concordia is the only team in the field the Coyotes have played this season and it was Cal State handing the Bears a 3-0 loss in the season opener for both teams. But that match was played at Coussoulis Arena where Cal State went 17-0.

The Coyotes were 4-0 on a neutral court and wouldn't see Concordia unless both teams advanced to the championship match.

Cherniss said having to make a road trip won't change the way her team practices, just the schedule. The Coyotes 20-member traveling party will leave on Tuesday.

"There is still game maintanance things we want to work on so we can keep playing at the level we have been playing at. I have been very pleased with the way the girls have worked and gone about their business."

Chaffey College volleyball coach Larry Chowen didn't expect any favors when it came to the playoff draw. And he didn't get any.

The Panthers, who captured their first Foothill Conference title in nearly 20 years, will travel to Los Angeles Pierce for a 7 p.m. first round playoff game Tuesday.

Chaffey (14-6) drew the No. 16 seed in the Southern California region which earned it a date with the No. 1 seeded Brahmas (29-1). The Panthers can thank their lack of history and the weakness of the Foothill Conference.

"It's pretty much what I expected," Chowen said. "The winner of our conference usually gets a one or two seed and has to go on the road. We just have to go do the best we can and see what happens."

The Panthers are led by sophomore middle blocker Tara Sawyer (178 kills, 99 blocks), the conference most valuable player. Its three other veterans are middle blocker Colleen Chancey (65 blocks) and setters Lauren Hall 249 assists) and Serina Diaz (423 assists).

 

The other sophomore, Nikita Johnson (160 kills), is a transfer from College of the Desert.

Rounding out the core group of players are libero Christine Luna (227 digs) and outside hitter Breeana Mayes (196 kills) - all freshmen.

"I don't think we have reached our potential yet. This would be a good time to do it," Chowen added. "I have seen us play really well and I have seen us play not so well. We'll see which team shows up. We have nothing to lose and they have everything to lose."

Pierce has a streak of 60 straight wins at home that dates back to October of 2002. They have won eight straight Western States Conference titles.

The Brahmas are led by sophomore setter Terry Soltani (905 assists, 46 aces), sophomore libero Ashley Clark (336 digs) and freshman outside hitter Sarah Martin (266 kills, 38 aces).

The winner next plays the survivor of the match between No. 8 Orange Coast (18-4) and No. 9 Pasadena (16-6).

The Cal State San Bernardino volleyball team finally delivered when it counted in the Division II West Region championship.

The Coyotes turned in a 25-18, 25-20, 25-14 win over a Cal Poly Pomona squad that had been playing phenomenal volleyball. That says something about how well the Coyotes played.

So now the Coyotes are headed to the Elite Eight. The site will be announced on Monday but Cal State has submitted a bid and the NCAA has appreciated the manner in which the school has hosted events in the past.

The NCAA likes to move the event around and a West Region team hasn't hosted since Cal State did so in 2003. It was hosted by Washburn, Kan. last year.

The bracket is shaping up favorably for the Coyotes, especially if they get the right to host. Their quarterfinal opponent has been determined. It will be California (Penn.), which came out of what is traditionally a weak Atlantic Region.

There were a couple of upsets in the bottom half of the same bracket. And the Coyotes wouldn't get defending national champion and current No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul until the final.

The University of La Verne volleyball team will play for the Division III national championship, rallying from a 2-1 deficit to produce a five-set triumph against top-ranked Juniata College.

La Verne took down the nation's #1 team by delivering a 3-2 (20-25, 25-18, 13-25, 25-22, 17-15) triumph over Juniata in the NCAA Semifinal round Friday at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois. The Leopards will face either Emory or Ohio Northern in the final scheduled for a 7 pm CST start (5 pm PST) on Saturday .

With the win, the Leopards reach the championship match for the first time since 2001, when they captured the school's third national title in volleyball.

Ironically, it was also La Verne's first win over Juniata since the 2001 NCAA Semifinals when the Leos topped the Eagles in five games on Dec. 1, 2001 in Whitewater, Wisconsin. The victory also avenged a 3-1 defeat to Juniata earlier this season on Oct. 10 at La Verne.

One l ocal team is going to be ecstatic this time tomorrow night.

The other will be in tears.

The volleyball teams from Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino both took care of business, winning their respective West Region semifinals Friday night at Cal State's Coussoulis Arena.

The third-seeded Broncos took care of Cal State Los Angeles - 25-12, 25-13, 17-25, 19-25, 15-13. They played as perfect as a team could play in the first two games, then had to hold on for dear life.

The top-seeded Coyotes took care of Chico State 25-19, 25-15, 25-21. They haven't lost a game in either of their two matches and have the top player in the conference in Jessica Granados.

The teams split this season, each winning at home. And the Coyotes are 16-0 at home. So give them the edge. They have also been there before. This will be their ninth straight trip to the regional final.

Good for the Inland Empire.

First serve is 7 p.m.

The University of La Verne volleyball team will play for the national championship, rallying from a 2-1 deficit to produce a five-set triumph against top-ranked Juniata College.

La Verne took down the nation's #1 team by delivering a 3-2 (20-25, 25-18, 13-25, 25-22, 17-15) triumph over Juniata in the NCAA Semifinal round Friday at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois.   The Leopards will face either Emory or Ohio Northern in the final scheduled for a 7 pm CST start (5 pm PST) on Saturday .

With the win, the Leopards reach the championship match for the first time since 2001, when they captured the school's third national title in volleyball.  Ironically, it was also La Verne's first win over Juniata since the 2001 NCAA Semifinals when the Leos topped the Eagles in five games on Dec. 1, 2001 in Whitewater, Wisconsin.  The victory also avenged a 3-1 defeat to Juniata earlier this season on Oct. 10 at La Verne.

In a roller-coaster fifth set that produced 11 ties and five lead changes, La Verne took a 9-6 lead only to watch the Eagles run off four straight points to retake the lead at 10-9.  A Crista Jones kill followed by a Rebecca Villanueva service ace and Eagle ball handling error allowed the Leos to reclaim the advantage at 12-10.  It wouldn't last as Juniata took the next three points - thanks in part to two La Verne hitting errors - to lead 13-12. 

The two teams traded the next two points and at 14-13, Juniata held a match point to reach its fourth final in five years.  But a Brianna Gonzales kill tied the contest at 14-14, and a Juniata attack error on the ensuing point gave La Verne a match point at 15-14.  A kill by National Player of the Year Amber Thomas denied the Leopards momentarily as the teams were again deadlocked at 15-15.  Gonzales returned the favor with a kill, and on the next point, an attack from the Eagles sailed out, giving La Verne a berth in the NCAA Championship match.

Statistically, Juniata hit .184 for the evening with the Leopards hitting .181.  Though the Eagles recorded 11 blocks compared to 7 for La Verne, the Leos held a 84-74 edge in digs while collecting 61 assists to 53 for the Eagles.

Juniata was poised to take the contest in four sets as a 6-2 run gave the Eagles a 17-13 advantage.  But La Verne battled its way to a decisive fifth set with a 6-1 run to grab a 19-18 lead.  Tied at 19-19, the Leos scored three straight points to seize control at 22-19, eventually claiming the set at 25-22 to earn a 2-2 set deadlock.

Jones finished with a team-high 18 kills while Gonzales totaled 16 kills in the win.  Jones hit .302 for the match with Gonzales also registering 22 digs to tie for match-high honors to also record a double-double.  Rebecca Villanueva recorded 10 kills while Ashley Morgado collected 8 kills.  Setter Yesenia Lopez directed the Leopard offense to the tune of 51 assists, also a match-high.

Juniata took a 1-0 lead with a 25-20 set win in the opening stanza.  The Eagles raced out to a 5-0 but the Leopards clawed back to draw even at 8-8.  The teams were knotted at 13-13 before the Eagles began their surge, going on a decisive 6-0 to grab a 22-16 they would not relinquish.  Though the Leopards hit .317 in the first set, they were hampered by four service errors along with a pair of blocking errors. 

The Leopards countered with a 25-18 triumph in the second frame, hitting .484 while limiting the Eagles to a .139 percentage.  Leading 11-10, La Verne used a 9-2 spurt to take a 20-12 lead as they cruised to victory.  Gonzales and Villanueva combined for 8 of the Leopards' 15 kills in the set.

It was a different story in the third set as the Eagles dominated action, earning an emphatic 25-13 win to take a 2-1 set advantage.  Juniata led 10-5 early and held a 14-9 cushion before winning seven of the next nine points to hold an insurmontable 21-11 lead.  La Verne struggled offensively hitting -.079 in the fourth set as the Eagles recorded 6 blocks against the Leos.

Thomas, a two-time National Player of the Year and a four-time All-American, finished with a match-high 19 kills.  Erin Albert collected 13 kills while Megan Sollenberger totaled 22 digs to equal Gonzales for match-high honors.

Cal State San Bernardino senior Jessica Granados repeated as Most Valuable Player in the tough CCAA. The announcement came on Thursday, the first day of the Division II West Regional at Cal State.

It is a well-deserved honor for a fine athlete.

Granados was clearly the best player. There were a couple of other players on other teams vwith more kills. But the Coyotes boasted perhaps the most balanced attack in the conference. Coach Kim Cherniss also used her backups for quite a few games against lesser teams.

Given the Coyotes success, Granados shoulod be a contender for national player of the year honors as well.

Four other Coyote players were also recognized. Sara Rice, Megan Haas and Sara Hoffman also made the first team while Ashtin Hall was selected to the second team.

Cal Poly Pomona had four players named with Vanessa Williams and Jenna Young on first team and Jasmine Davis and Anne-Marie Hoffmans placed on the second team. Williams earned player of the week honors twice and likely drew some consideration for player of the year.

Davis emerged as one of the most improved players in the entire conference.

The Cal Poly Pomona volleyball team advanced to the Division II West Region semifinals with a fairly easy 25-19, 25-12, 25-20 win over Western Oregon Thursday afternoon.

It was the Broncos playing Big Boy volleyball against the top team in an inferior conference. They won the first game, then used a 10-point run in the second game to take a lead that was never in jeopardy.

Jenna Young and Anne-Marie Hofmans had11 kills each and Vanessa Williams added eight with five block assists.

The Broncos (19-7) were superior in every facet of the game, hitting .237 to a miniscule .052 for the Wolves (22-3).

Next up for the Broncos is the Friday semifinal against the winner of the match just starting - UC San Diego vs. Cal State Los Angeles.

.

SAN BERNARDINO - Not only did the No. 2 Cal State San Bernardino
volleyball team take care of business - it did so quickly.

The Coyotes opened play in the Division II West Regional at
Coussoulis Arena with an impressive 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-12)
thumping of Pacific West Conference champion Brigham Young-Hawaii
Thursday night. The match took a little more than an hour.

The win sends the Coyotes (26-3) into tonight's 7:30 semifinal
against Chico State (21-10), a 3-0 winner over Sonoma State. The 5
p.m. semifinal will pit Cal Poly Pomona against Cal State Los Angeles.

The Coyotes hit .506 for the match which could have been higher had
coach Kim Cherniss not used primarily reserves in the second half of
the third game. Cal State hit .625 in the opening game and was at
.600 in the through two games.

Perhaps the highest praise came from Seasiders coach Wilfred Navatla.

``I don't know if we had played our best volleyball if we would have
beaten them,'' he said. ``They do everything well. Our strength is
our serving and our backcourt defense but that really didn't show
because of how well they played.''

Setter Sara Hoffman spread the wealth around. Sara Rice had a
team-high 12 kills, one more than Jessica Granados. Jane Chafeh had
nine with no hitting errors for a .750 percentage.

The Coyotes aren't worried that having such an easy match will take
an edge off their game heading into what will likely be tougher
matches.

``We're pushing ourselves to get better,'' Rice said. ``That's
getting us ready. We're worried about doing what we do the best we
can.''

The Coyotes wrapped up the first game in a crisp 25 minutes. Cal
State was never challenged, scoring 13 of the first 19 points and
going up 13-6 on a kill by Granados, one of six she had in the game.

The host team outscored the Seasiders 12-8 the rest of the game which
ended on a spike by Rice off a quickset from Hoffman.

The second game was even more lopsided. It was tied at seven but the
Coyotes reeled off 11 straight points, three in a row coming on
winners by Chafeh. The run also included two straight block winners
from the combination of Chafeh and Samantha Middleborn. Cal State
eventually put it away on a spike by Granados.

Cal State opened a commanding 15-5 lead in the final set. Cherniss
substituted freely the rest of the way, using a total of 14 players.

The Coyotes held BYU to a .129 hitting percentage but the visitors
hit .357 in the opening game. The Seasiders only managed a .108 in
the second game and an even-more woeful minus .028 in the third.

Tonight's match will be the third of the season between the Coyotes
and the Wildcats. Cal State won both regular season meetings 3-0.
Cherniss was impressed with how well Chico played earlier in the
night.


``We're playing inspired. They're playing inspired. It should be a
great match,'' Cherniss said.

The Cal State San Bernardino men's basketball team is on its way to Seattle for a pair of games against in-region foes. The good news is that point guard Devin Montgomery is on the plane too.

Montgomery missed the team's regular season opener against Alaska-Fairbanks Sunday because he had not yet been cleared by the NCAA. Montgomery played in a summer league that wasn't sanctioned by the NCAA so he basically had to have his amateurism reinstated.

That had been in the works for some time but Cal State finally got the go-ahead just ibn time for Montgomery to make the flight.

The Coyotes will play Western Washington Friday and host Seattle Pacific on Saturday. Both are traditionally top contenders in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The games are important because one of the main criteria for postseason play is record against in-region foes.

Now when they finally get Brandon Brown in the mix . . .

By Michelle Gardner

Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO - The top team in the Great Northwest Athletic
Conference was no match for Cal Poly Pomona.

The third-seeded Broncos advanced to the semifinals of the Division
II West Regional with a convincing 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-20) win over
fifth-seeded Western Oregon Thursday afternoon at Coussoulis Arena.
It is the 15th playoff appearance for the Broncos but the first win
in the postseason since 1997.

Next up for Cal Poly (19-7) is tonight's 5 p.m. semifinal against Cal
State Los Angeles which upset second-seeded UC San Diego 3-2 (24-26,
25-19, 26-24, 25-23, 15-13).

``You go back to CCAA play and we have had a lot of battles where we
had to come through and show a fighting spirit,'' Broncos coach Rosie
Wegrich said. ``That is something this team has shown this year and
it showed again today. The conference really helped prepare us for
this.''

The Broncos posted a .237 hitting percentage while limiting the
Wolves to a .052, including a minus-0.28 in the second game. They
tallied 10 team blocks - one solo and 18 assisted.

Counterpart Brad Saindon of Western Oregon (22-3) was impressed.

``We didn't play well and they played very well. That isn't a good
combination for us.'' he said. ``I was impressed with their
blocking. They're physical and very imposing. We had 23 hitting
errors and that was uncharacteristic for us. But that was due to what
they did at the net.''

Cal Poly, ranked 18th nationally, led from the first serve. It led by
as many as seven in the opening game at 19-12. It got a set point on
a kill by Vanessa Williams and wrapped it up seconds later when
6-foot-3 Wolves standout tipped a ball in the net.

But it was a 10-point run in the second game that gave the Broncos a
lead that was never challenged. The Wolves, ranked 20th nationally,
were still in striking distance at 11-8 when Rafaela Rosa went to the
service line for nine straight points, three coming on winners by
Willams.

The Broncos converted their first set point of the game on a tip by
Jenna Young.

Despite the big lead, the Broncos never felt they were in the clear.

``In volleyball the momentum can change so quickly,'' Young said.
``You never know when something crazy is going to happen. But we felt
good about the way we were playing.''

The third game stayed tighter longer. It was even 10 times, the last
at 14-all. Young unleashed a service ace that gave the Broncos a
23-18 lead. They wrapped it up a few minutes later on another Western
Oregon hitting error.

The offensive attack was balanced with Young and Anne-Marie Hofmans
each putting down 11 kills, with five of Young's coming in the third
game. Williams contributed eight but managed a team-high five block
assists. Setter Jasmine Davis tallied 34 assists and Rosa led in digs
with 15.

The Wolves were led by Bennett with 12 kills but she needed 34
attacks and only managed a percentage of .088.

This will be the third meeting between Pomona and Cal State Los
Angeles. The two split during the regular season wit each team wining
at home.

No. 4 University of La Verne advanced to the Division III national
semifinal, besting unranked New Paltz State 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-26)
in quarterfinal play Thursday at Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington,
Ill.

The Leopards (26-2) will play No. 1 ranked Juniata (35-4) in today's
semifinal with the winner getting the chance to play for a national
championship.

``It was nice to go and get this one out of the way,'' La Verne coach
Don Flora said. ``It was a matchup we definitely thought we should
win. We took care of business on our side of the net the way we
needed to.''

La Verne, which last made the national semifinal in 2005, was led by
senior outside hitter Brianna Gonzales who tallied 17 kills and 10
digs. Junior Crista Jones added nine kills while junior Rebecca
Villanueva contributed seven with 11 digs.

Junior setter Yesenia Lopez was the catalyst of the offense with 36
assists and eight digs and Courtney Boyd reeled off six service aces.

The Leopards are familiar with today's opponent, having faced Juniata
earlier this season in a tournament they hosted. Juniata won that
battle 3-1

``We are excited about getting another chance to play them,'' Flora
added. ``We do what we can to see as many quality teams as possible
because of this. We hope to see tham again when it really counts.''

Juniata advanced with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-22) win over
Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the first of the four quarterfinals Thursday.
The Jaguars got 12 kills from Amber Thomas and 11 from Erin Albert.

By Michelle Gardner

Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO - For a second straight year Cal State San Bernardino
rightside hitter Jessica Granados has been named CCAA Player of the
Year.

The awards were announced Thursday in conjunction with the Division
II West Regional tournament being held at Coussoulis Arena.

Granados, a 6-foot-1 senior out of Beaumont, led the conference in
kills per game (4.19) and fourth in hitting percentage (315). In
addition to her 352 kills Granados tallied 27 service aces, 153 digs
and 50 total blocks in leading the Coyotes to a 25-3 regular season
record and No. 2 national ranking.

She was one of five Coyotes honored. Joining her on first team were
senior middle blocker Sara Rice, junior setter Sara Hoffman and
senior libero Meghan Haas. Junior outside hitter Ashtin Hall was
named to the second-team.

Cal Poly Pomona (19-7) had four players recognized. Seniors Jenna
Young and Vanessa Williams were selected to the first team while
junior setter Jasmine Davis and senior outside hitter Anne-Marie
Hofmans made second team. It was the fourth first-team selection for
Young and third for Williams.

Sonoma State coach Bear Grassl earned Coach of the Year honors for
leading the Seawolves to a 23-6 record, highlighted by the school's
first playoff appearance and national ranking since 1993.

Junior Gabriela Builawczyk of Cal State Los Angeles, a transfer from
Southern Idaho, was named Newcomer of the Year and UC San Diego's
Hillary Williamson earned Freshman of the Year accolades.

FIRST TEAM
]
Rebecca Bailey (UC San Diego, OH, Sr.)

Erica Brick (Chico State, S, Sr.)

Gabriela Bulawczyk (Cal State L.A., OH, Jr.)

Jessica Granados (Cal State San Bernardino, OH, Sr.)

Meghan Haas (Cal State San Bernardino, LIB, Sr.)

Gillian Heydorff (Chico State, OH, Jr.)

Sara Hoffman (Cal State San Bernardino, S, Jr.)

Sara Rice (Cal State San Bernardino, MB)

Kristy Sather (Sonoma State, OH, Sr.)

Sylvia Schmidt (UC San Diego, MB, Jr.)

Ursula Vieira (Cal State L.A., RS, Sr.)

Vanessa Williams (Cal Poly Pomona, MB, Sr.)

Jenna Young (Cal Poly Pomona, OH, Sr.)

Second Team

Lynsey Adams (Humboldt State, OH, Sr.)

Lindsay Brown (Sonoma State, S, Jr.)

Elaine Chen (UC San Diego, S, Jr.)

Jasmine Davis (Cal Poly Pomona, S, Jr.)

Ashtin Hall (Cal State San Bernardino, OH, Jr.)

Annie Hoffmans (Cal Poly Pomona, OH, Sr.)

Taylor Krenwinkle (Sonoma State, S, Fr.)

Lindsay Macias (Chico State, OH, Sr.)

Amy McMahon (Cal State L.A., MB, Sr.)

Beth Perkins (San Francisco State, OH, Jr.)

Crystal Trifeletti (Chico State, MB, So.)

Ali Walker (Sonoma State, OH, Jr.)

Hillary Williamson (UC San Diego, OH, Fr.)


Most Valuable Player: Jessica Granados (Cal State San Bernardino)

Freshman of the Year: Hillary Williamson (UC San Diego)

Newcomer of the Year: Gabriela Bulawczyk (Cal State L.A.)

Coach of the Year: Bear Grassl (Sonoma State)

The San Bernardino Valley College women's soccer team isn't going to have long to celebrate its first-ever Foothill Conference title.

 

The Wolverines (15-6-3) are busily preparing for their first-round playoff game against Cerritos (17-0-4), which isn't just the top seed but the top-ranked team in the country.

Coach Kristin Hauge was informed of the playoff draw on Tuesday and is excited about the first-round matchup at 2 p.m. Saturday at Cerritos.

The teams played a nonconference game three weeks ago and the Falcons emerged with a 3-2 win. SBVC felt good about that game because it has been the only team this season to score on Cerritos more than once.

"We felt good about the way we played and we're looking forward to getting another chance," Hauge said. "Yes it is going to be tough, but we like the challenge."

The Wolverines will be making their second tournament appearance in school history. The first came last year when they advanced as conference runner-up but defeated Victor Valley 1-0 in a first-round game. They were eliminated in the second round by Cuyamaca 3-1 in overtime.

The Wolverines are led by freshman forward Sylvia Fuentes, the conference's most valuable player. She has scored 12 goals and nine assists and is second on the team in points to Sarahi Bransford (17 goals, 11 assists).

SBVC also has a solid goalkeeping duo in sophomore Jackie Jaime and freshman Maria Magana.

``We have nothing to lose, so we're up for the challenge," Hauge said.

Cal Poly Pomona middle blocker Vanessa Williams has been named Molten California Collegiate Athletic Association Women's Volleyball Player of the Week for Nov. 10-16. It marks the second time this season she has been honored.

Williams, a senior from Riverside, Calif., led the Broncos to a pair of wins over Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A. In two games, Williams totaled 24 kills, 10 blocks, four digs and posted a .477 hitting percentage.

In a three-set win over Cal State Dominguez Hills, Williams recorded a .545 hitting percentage (6-0-11) in helping the Broncos to a CCAA-record .488 team hitting percentage.

In a five-set win over Cal State L.A. on Saturday, Williams totaled 18 kills, nine blocks and three digs while registering a .455 hitting percentage.

Cal Poly Pomona, which tied for second in the final CCAA standings, earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Division II West Regional and will take on No. 6 Western Oregon in a first-round match on Thursday.

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); Oct. 27-Nov. 2: Megan Loghry (Cal State Stanislaus); Nov. 3-9: Sara Rice (Cal State San Bernardino).; Nov. 10-16: Vanessa Williams (Cal Poly Pomona).

So the Cal State San Bernardino men's basketball team is taking the court in 45 minutes or so for its season opener against Alaska-Fairbanks at Coussoulis Arena.

The 3 p.m. start on a Sunday isn't going to make for much of a crowd but Fairbanks was willing to make the trip and the Coyotes needed the game, especially since it is an an-region game.

The Coyotes will not be at full strength. Point guard Devin Montgomery, a transfer from Pepperdine still hasn't been cleared by the NCAA. That is supposed to be coming any day. But I have been hearing that for three weeks.

Brandon Brown isn't eligible either. Coach Jeff Oliver has touted him as the next great Cal State player, supposedly better than Ivan Johnson was two years ago. Brown will be eligible after the fall quarter, which will likely be right before the Coyotes play their two games in Las Vegas Dec. 20-21.

I am already convinced. Brown is heaving up shots from half court, no other Coyotes in sight yet. He made four out of about 10 tries, the last one swishing through seemingly with no effort.

Oliver can only hope that's a sign of things to come!

By Michelle Gardner

Staff Writer

   LAVERNE -  The last thing University of La Verne coach Don Flora wanted was to see his SCIAC rival a third time when it mattered most. That's what he got. But like the first two times the Leopards prevailed 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-20, 28-26) Saturday at Frantz Athletic Court in the championship match of the Division III West Region tournament.

The win sends the No. 4 Leopards (25-2) into the national tournament for the fifth time in coach Don Flora's 11-year tenure. That event begins on Thursday at Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington, Ill.

``I hate that cliché that it's hard to beat a team three times but it's really true,'' Flora said. ``The pressure was all on us. They had absolutely nothing to lose. Everyone expected them to lose. That was a great Division III volleyball match. It was two teams going at it strength against strength.''

The most recent meeting wasn't as easy as the first two. La Verne struggled early on, hitting just .036 in an opening game that No. 14 Cal Lutheran won 25-20 behind the five kills of Megan Thorpe.

But the Leopards upped the level of their play with each of the following games, winning the second 25-22 while hitting .231 and the third 25-20 hitting an even-better .267.

The fourth game featured 17 ties nine lead changes, with no team building more than a three-point lead.  The Regals (26-7), who upset Cal State East Bay in Friday's semifinal, turned aside four match points the first coming at 24-22 when Erin Exline and Lindsay Benson blocked a shot by La Verne's Brianna Gonzales.

Cal Lutheran (26-7) had a game point at 25-24 but a service error, one of its 12 on the night, evened it at 25. It was tied for the last time at 26 but the Regals' Allison Kerr landed a shot in the net to give the host team its fifth match point. This time the Leos secured it on a Cal Lutheran hitting error.

``It is definitely a relief to finally be able to think about nationals,'' said Gonzales, named the tournament's most outstanding player. ``We worked hard to get here. Even though we played them twice, that didn't matter. We were just focused on this match.''

Gonzales had 27 kills on 74 attacks. She also had 12 digs and three aces. Crista Jones contributed 16 and Rebecca Villanueva 12. Yesenia Lopez tallied 44 assists and 18 digs and Courtney Boyd had a team-high 25 digs.

Kerr had 14 to lead Call Lutheran which hit .196 on the night.

``There was pressure but we tried to stay calm and not freak out,'' junior middle blocker Ashley Morgado said. ``We have faith in each other and that helps because that turns the pressure into belief that we're going to come through.''

The trip to nationals will be the first for all but Gonzales and Madison Bradley who were freshman on the 2005 team that lost the national semifinal to Wisconsin-Whitewater.

``There's no reason we can't go there and finish the job,'' Gonzaels added.

 

 

 

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.

The Division III West Region final will be a rematch of SCIAC rivals
as No. 3 seed Cal Lutheran and top-seeded host University of LaVerne
advanced with semifinal wins Friday at Frantz Athletic Court.

Senior Brianna Gonzales and junior Crista Jones tallied 16 kills each
to lead the No. 4 ranked Leopards to a 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-20,
25-12) win over Nebraska Wesleyan. Ashley Morgado contributed 11 for
La Verne, which hit .222 on the night.

Yesenia Lopez was the catalyst of the offense with 39 assists. She
also had 21 digs. Chelsea Slight led all players in the defensive
department with 25 digs.

Abby Bade led Nebraska with 17 kills and two solo blocks.



The Kingsmen (26-6) upset No. 2 seed and No. 9 nationally ranked Cal
State East Bay 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-18). Balance was the key as
Allison Kerr had nine kills while three other players notched eight
each.


This will be the third time La Verne and Cal Lutheran have squared
off. The Leopards won both regular season meetings 3-0 and 3-1.

By Michelle Gardner

Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO - Kim Cherniss couldn't stop smiling. Winning a
conference title can do that to even a veteran coach.

The Coyotes secured at least a share of their third straight CCAA
title and the sixth in eight years, besting Cal State Los Angeles 3-0
(25-20, 25-18, 25-22) Friday at Coussoulis Arena. A win tonight and
the Coyotes will claim the title outright but that seems like just a
formality as they will be playing last-place Dominguez Hills (3-24,
2-17).

The victory also keeps the Coyotes (24-3, 16-3) first in the Pacific
Region which would assure them the right to host next week's
eight-team regional. It also avenged a loss to the Eagles earlier
this season.

``I'm ecstatic,'' said a beaming Cherniss. ``A conference title,
another banner to hang. We beat a very good team and we played well
so it feels good. We're peaking at the right time.''

The Coyotes turned in their best blocking effort of the season,
knocking down 14 total team blocks to six for the Eagles. It seemed
to be one area where Cal State wasn't as faring as well as it did
last season when it had a dominant blocker in Sharea Drawn.

But Samantha Middleborn, a freshman out of Carter High School, came
up with seven block assists and two solos to lead the effort.

``We had some individual blocking but we weren't doing a good job of
team blocking and that's important. It's something we have been
making an effort to focus on and it showed.''

It was appropriate that the Coyotes closed out the match at the net.
Up 21-20 in the third set after winning the first two, Sara Rice
recorded a solo block to make it 22-20. Middleborn and junior setter
Sara Hoffman teamed up for one seconds later against Eagles 6-foot-1
standout Gabriela Bulawczyk.

Middlborn blocked a tip by Mary Laupepa to give the Coyotes a match
point and they wasted no time converting with Jessica Granados lining
a winner off the Eagles block.

``We have been working hard on our blocking and it was nice to come
up big against a big team,'' Middleborn said. ``We took what we have
been doing in practice and brought it out here.''

The Coyotes hit a solid .293 on the night with Granados notching 14
kills in 28 attacks. Sophomore Jane Chafeh added 10, seven of those
coming in the final game. Rice contributed eight. Hoffman had 37
assists and Meghan Haas a team-high 11 digs.

The Coyotes held the Eagles (20-6, 13-6) to a .192 average, Bulawczyk
had 12 but took 32 total attacks.

The loss was as costly to the Eagles as it was beneficial to the
Coyotes. They are sixth in the region and very much on the bubble of
making the playoff field. It won't get easier as the Eagles face a
must-win tonight at Cal Poly Pomona (17-7, 14-5).

This will likely be the last weekend of action for the local colleges. The University of Redlands has an outside shot at an at-large bid, but that's only if they win. And even then it's a long shot given the history of the SCIAC teams.

Here's a guess at this week's outcomes . . .

Cal Lutheran at Redlands

Redlands has the No. 2 defense in the country, Cal Lu the No. 4. But Redlands has the better offense and will be playing at home.

Redlands 17, Cal Lu 14

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at Pomona Pitzer

It's the annual battle for the Peace Pipe. Two words - Jake Caron

Pomona Pitzer 34, CMS 24

La Verne at Chapman

Chapman plays up to good teams and down to lesser ones but usually gets by. That will likely happen here.

Chapman 24, La Verne 21

SBVC at L.A. Harbor

Its the last chance for the Wolverines to get in the win column but not likely to happen as the Seahawks boast the top passing team in the South.

Harbor 44, SBC 21

Chaffey at Mt. SAC

Mt SAC is coming off a loss so it should come out a little bit testy. It has too much depth and is too physical for a banged up Chaffey team.

Mt. SAC 42, Chaffey 24

Victor Valley at Mt San Jacinto

The Eagles are one of the most improved teams in the South but the Rams and super QB O'Ryan Bradley should still prevail.

Victor Valley 38, MSJ 21

 Cal State San Bernardino begins its quest for a return to the NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament on Saturday, hosting Dixie State College at 2 p.m. in Coussoulis Arena.             The Coyotes have one game under their belt - a 63-55 loss to UNLV, a Division I program - last weekend while the Rebels of Dixie State have three pre-season games in the book.

            CSUSB has been experimenting with different lineups on the court to give the coaching staff a feel for which combination can be most effective.

The team mounted a 10-point lead in the first half against UNLV while shooting well from the floor but UNLV defense and cold shooting caught up with the team in the second half as they trailed by as much as 10 in the final minutes.

Shannon Gholar and Morgan Pryor came off the bench to provide some valuable minutes for the Coyotes against UNLV and could get the start on Saturday along with Krystal Urzua, who scored 21 against UNLV, Jaclyn Rainville and point guard Ashlee Ford.

            PROBABLE STARTERS - For Cal State San Bernardino - Krystal Urzua, Jaclyn Rainville, Ashlee Ford, Shannon Gholar, Morgan Pryor. For Dixie State - Jessica Carver, Lindsey Chettinger, Courtney Boyd,  Jessie Ingraham, Megan Tidwell.

ON THE WEB - The CSUSB-Dixie State will be webcast at www.csusbathletics.com (click on Listen Live).

            LIVE STATS - Follow the Coyotes via Live Stats, also on the athletics website home page.

            DIXIE DOODLES - The Pacific West Conference member Rebels return four starters from last year's team that went 16-11 and 12-6 in the Pac West....Jessica Carver was the team's leading scorer and rebounder at 15.5 ppg and 9.2 rpg with 48 blocked shots and 38 steals. She also made 82 percent of her free throws.....Lindsey Chettinger averaged 10.1 ppg with 23 steals.....Courtney Boyd led the team in assists with 109 with 41 steals and averaged 6.3 ppg and 3.1 rpg.....the team averaged 70 points a game while giving up 64 ppg....in 2008 pre-season games this month, the Rebels beat Southern Utah 59-53, lost to Utah State 74-58 and lost to BYU 77-40, all exhibitions....coach Angela Kristensen is in her seventh year of college coaching, her third at Dixie where she is 32-23 after two seasons.....her overall record is 103-84....Dixie State has 6,400 students and was founded in 1911....the Rebels head for UC San Diego for a 1 p.m. game Sunday against the Tritons.

            YOTES NOTES - Senior forward Rachel Johnson and Ana Onaindia, a guard who transferred from UC Santa Barbara, are both in rehabilitation after surgery on their injured legs and both will be out of action indefinitely.....Morgan Pryor had 11 points and two steals against UNLV....Jaclyn Rainville had 10 points and four rebounds in 22 minutes against UNLV....Shannon Gholar had three assists and two steals in 23 minutes and knocked down a three-pointer against UNLV....Krystal Urzua's 21 points came on nine field goals in 18 tries but the was just two of 10 from 3-point range. Urzua collected a team-high five rebounds and dished off three assists and even blocked a shot in 33 minutes....CSUSB shot 47 percent in the first half but only 19 percent in the second half against UNLV....Coyotes will be two games in the Grand Canyon tournament in Phoenix, AZ, next weekend. CSUSB plays Regis University of Colorado at 5 p.m. on Friday and the host Antelopes at 4 p.m. on Saturday....

           

           

 

 

CAL LUTHERAN (6-2, 4-1) at REDLANDS (7-1, 4-1)

 

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

 

Radio: KMET (1490-AM)

 

About Redlands: The Bulldogs are ranked No. 25 by D3football and No. 21 by the AFCA and need to win to still have a shot at an at-large playoff berth. The Bulldogs rank No. 2 nationally in total defense and No. 1 in sacks for a loss and net punting. Senior DE Brock Arndt, LB Ian Sluss and DB Mike Nicolini head the effort on that side of the ball. Junior QB Steve Smith has progressed each week since taking over for Dan Selway. Zack Schafer is the top rusher in the SCIAC.

 

About Cal Lutheran: The Kingsmen also rely on defense and rank fourth nationally led by DE Jacob Calderon, last year's player of the year. Cal Lu ranks first nationally defending the pass and has not yielded a touchdown pass through the air in conference play. Elusive QB Jericho Tolilolo is the catalyst of the offense and is good at making things happen on the run. The Kingsmen also boast a reliable place-kicker in Jackson Damron.

 

LA VERNE (2-6) at CHAPMAN (4-4)

 

Kickoff: 7 p.m.

 

About La Verne:  The Leopards have already surpassed their win total of 2007 so another win would be an added bonus. The passing game has been the most consistent part of the offensive attack with junior Anthony Andre at the helm, averaging 163.6 ypg. The defense has been spearheaded by senior LB Jason Carpenter and junior DB Taylor Hart. According to D3football.com the Leos have played the 14^th toughest schedule out of 228 Division III schools.

 

About Chapman: The Panthers, a Division III independent, are coming off a 21-7 loss at Redlands. They tend to play up to the competition and down as well. They are 3-3 against teams from the SCIAC. The Panthers are averaging 322 yards a game on offense and are giving up 306 per game. They prefer to throw the ball with senior QB Eric Marty directing the offense. Daniel Hartigan and Chino product Garrett Earls lead the defense.

 

POMONA-PITZER (2-6, 1-4) at CLAREMONT-MUDD-SCRIPPS (3-5, 2-3)

 

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

 

About Pitzer: The Sagehens have been totally reliant on a passing game that averages 294 yards a game. Sophomore Jacob Caron threw for 507 yards last week with Kevin Kelley, last week's SCIAC Athlete of the Week, catching 16 for 272 yards in a 62-33 loss at Occidental. R.J. Maki has been a steady performer on both sides of the ball and on special teams. Success here depends on whether or not the rushing game can contribute.

.

About CMS: The Stags snapped a three-game losing streak with a 31-6 win over Whittier last week. D.J. Lillard ranks third in the conference in rushing and is coming off a 113-yard effort against the Poets. Senior DB Brock Olson leads the SCIAC in interceptions (6) and senior LB Ashton Clarke ranks second in tackles. CMS has 15 interceptions as a team, tied for first with Redlands.

 

 

CHAFFEY (5-4, 2-3) at MT. SAC (8-1, 4-1)

 

Kickoff: 6 p.m.

 

About Chaffey: The Panthers are coming off a 27-14 loss to College of the Desert that spelled the end of any postseason Bowl hopes. A number of Panthers are playing through nagging injuries including leading rusher Mark Chase (96 yards) who missed some practice time this week with a sprained ankle. Edward Heath is the team's leading tackler.

 

About Mt. SAC: The Mounties fell from No. 1 to 3 in Southern California after losing to Cerritos last week 44-38. They can clinch the Central Conference with a win. Freshman Nick Lamaison (2,631 yards, 29 TDs)  is the catalyst of an offense that averages 428.7 yards a game.  Other key players are WRs Jesse Canada and Matt Austin and RB Iosefa Burton. Sophomore DB Dominique Gaisie, of San Beranrdino, and sophomore LB Alfred Rowe lead the defense.

 

VICTOR VALLEY (3-6, 3-3) at MT. SAN JACINTO (2-7, 1-5)

 

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

 

About Victor: The Rams snapped a three-game losing streak with a 39-17 win over Compton. They have gotten solid play out of freshman QB O'Ryan Bradley who averages 236 yards a game passing. The Rams are down to five healthy linemen however. Victor Valley's biggest struggle has come in the secondary and it will be facing a team that averages 212 yards a game through the air.

 

About MSJ: The Eagles have played better of late, winning two of their last three games with one of those wins coming over a team the Rams lost to. They have used four quarterbacks but freshman Carmen Boyer worked the entire game last week. Other key players on offense are RB Butch Tuvale (562, 6 TDs) and WR Daniel Chamberlain (673 yards, 6 TDs). Freshman DB Clarence Laster is the leading tackler.

 

SAN BERNARDINO VALLEY (0-9, 0-7) at L.A. HARBOR (2-7, 1-5)

 

Kickoff: 6 p.m.

 

About SBVC:  This is the last chance for the Wolverines to chalk up a win and snap a 14-game losing streak that dates back to last season. The bright spot for coach Pat Meech's team has been the improvement of freshman QB Danny Laugen. Meech also singled out the play of WR Robert Anderson, LBs Cordell Nugent and Shawn Borden and DB John Lewis.

 

About Harbor: The Seahawks rank first in the South in passing (329.4 ypg) with QB Andrew Trudnowski but don't do much of anything else. They average 148 on the ground. Chris Mathews is his favorite target. Harbor has lost three in a row and six of its last seven.

 

 

By Michelle Gardner

 

Staff Writer

 

The University of Redlands football team is hoping to get one more shot at Occidental, the only team it has lost to this season.

 

But for that to even be a possibility the Bulldogs (7-1, 4-1) have to get past Cal Lutheran (6-2, 4-1) first. And that will not be an easy task. Redlands will host the Kingsmen at 1 p.m. Saturday at Ted Runner Stadium in the regular season finale for both teams.

 

Occidental (8-0, 5-0) is just a win over hapless Whittier (1-7) away from locking up the SCIAC title and automatic bid for the playoffs but Redlands is hoping for an at-large bid. The Division III playoff draw will be announced Sunday. Occidental is ranked second in the West Region and will likely get to host a first round playoff game. If that happens it would make sense from a cost standpoint for the NCAA to give Redlands, ranked sixth in the West, a bid and send it to Occidental.

 

Redlands moved back in the D3football rankings at No. 25 and is No. 21 according to the American Football Coaches Association.

 

``Obviously we have to win this game or it doesn't matter,'' Redlands coach Mike Maynard said. ``Assuming we do, I think it's better than 50-50 that we get in. But you never know. The SCIAC hasn't been looked on favorably and that is working against us. If we win this one I think we're worthy.''

 

Spectators taking in today's contest shouldn't expect a lot of scoring. Redlands ranks second nationally in total defense (214.8) while Cal Lutheran is ranked fourth (236.8). Redlands is first in tackles for loss, fourth against the run and sixth against the pass while Cal Lutheran is first in passing defense, seventh in sacks and seventh in tackles for loss.

 

 Redlands also ranks first in net punting.

 

Both teams lost to Occidental with Redlands losing 28-15 on Oct. 11 and Cal Lutheran losing 24-21 two weeks ago. The Kingsmen also lost to unbeaten Willamette, ranked first in the region and 10^th nationally.

 

``They're a very good team. We're certainly not taking them lightly,'' Maynard said. ``They have been very solid on defense and they have a quarterback (Jericho Toilolo) that can make things happen with his athletic ability.''

 

 

Redlands is coming off a 21-7 nonconference win over Chapman. It only led 14-7 and Chapman was in the red zone late in the fourth when the Bulldogs made a defensive stand. Maynard was pleased to see his team rise to the occasion in a competitive game after three straight blowouts in which his starters were out by halftime.

 

   ``They pushed us and we had to respond,'' he said. ``We played well in the first half and the fourth quarter but had to really gut it out.''

By Michelle Gardner

 

Staff Writer

 

 CLAREMONT - Pomona-Pitzer sophomore Jacob Caron is looking forward to a chance to redeem himself. Last year he threw an interception after driving his team 80 yards to the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 10 with time running out. The Sagehens lost 27-22.

 

It wasn't just any old loss. It was CMS, the cross-street rival. So when the teams meet Saturday at 1 p.m. at Pomona-Pitzer to play for the Peace Pipe, the sophomore standout will be looking for a little poetic justice.

 

``There were a couple throws in that game he'd like to have back and that was one of them,'' said Pitzer coach Roger Caron, also Jacob's father. ``He definitely has some added incentive.''

 

Neither team is going anywhere in the standings with Pitzer at 2-6 overall and 1-4 in conference play and CMS slightly better at 3-5 and 2-3. But that doesn't lessen the intensity of the rival which started in 1959. CMS holds a slight 27-23 edge overall, although there is some debate as to when the teams actually started playing for a prize.

 

  ``There is always a buzz around here when it comes to that game,'' Caron added. ``There were good teams here that were expected to win that game and lost and vice versa. As coaches we don't have to say much about it because the kids are already talking about it.''

 

Stags coach Rick Candaele agrees.

 

``There are very few rivalries where the other team is 20 yards up the street,'' he said. ``It may be Division III but it would be like Ohio State being able to go 20 yards to play Michigan. It's a big deal for us.''

 

The Sagehens look to have the advantage because of the emergence of Caron. He threw for 1,659 yards with seven touchdowns and 15 interceptions as a true freshman but has improved to the tune of 2,359 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season. He threw for 507 last week in a loss to unbeaten Occidental.

 

The CMS secondary has been solid led by SCIAC interceptions leader Brock Olson. He will be tested as will teammates Landon Patoc, David Spiller and Blake Kos.

 

``He (Caron) presents a problem,'' Candaele said. ``He's tall and got good vision downfield and he gets rid of the ball pretty fast. We're going to have to put some pressure on him and limit the damage.''

 

CMS will be led by senior quarterback Ryan Larsen, who has struggled with a shoulder but appears healthier now.

 

Elsewhere La Verne rounds out the season with a nonconference game at Chapman at 7 p.m. The big clash will be at Redlands where the Bulldogs and Cal Lutheran will square off, with the winner having an outside shot at an at-large playoff spot.

 

In the community college ranks Chaffey will be at Mt. SAC at 6 p.m. and San Bernardino Valley will be at L.A. Harbor, also at 6 p.m.

 

 

 

Friday night's volleyball clash between Cal State Los Angeles and Cal State San Bernardino at Coussoulis Arena should be one for the ages.

The Coyotes (23-3) are looking to secure yet another CCAA title. But a win would also likely cement the top spot in the Pacific Region which would also give the Coyotes the right to host the eight-team conference tournament. That is important because they are 12-0 at home.

Cal State Los Angeles (20-5) is fighting for its life. The Eagles are ranked seventh in the region with Sonoma State eighth. Only one of those teams is going to make the regional because BYU Hawaii is 10th but has to at least move up to eighth because it has an automatic win by virtue of winning a weak Pac West.

Sonoma State is playing No. 2 UC San Diego at home where it is 13-1. If the Seawolves win, L.A. probably has to beat the Coyotes and Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday to get in. And that may not even do it.

First serve is set for 7 p.m.

By Michelle Gardner
Staff Writer

Coming into the season, University of La Verne volleyball coach Don
Flora wasn't quite sure what to expect. He didn't have an experienced
setter returning and that was just one of many question marks.

So that fact his team is ranked third nationally and favored to win
the six-team Division III West tournament which starts Thursday is a
little overwhelming.

The Leopards (23-2) are seeded first so they earned a first-round
bye, as did No. 2 seed Cal State East Bay. La Verne is 5-0 against
teams in the field with No. 4 seed Pacific Lutheran the lone team in
the field it has not faced. Four of those five wins came by 3-1
scores and the other was a 3-0 sweep.

The Leopards, ranked fourth nationally, will take to the court Friday
against the winner of tonight's Nebraska Wesleyan-Pacific Lutheran
match.

``This team has exceeded my expectations big time,'' says Flora,
rounding out his 11th season. ``I knew we had some talented players
but we also had a lot of question marks. We have had some kids step
up and contribute more than they had in the past. It has been a very
rewarding season already.''

La Verne is led by two-time SCIAC Player of the Year Brianna
Gonzales. She led the SCIAC in kills per game (3.92), ranked eight in
hitting percentage (.268) and ninth in digs per game (3.47).

Other veteran starters are junior middle Crista Jones, junior middle
Ashley Morgado and sophomore libero Chelsea Slight.

But what has made the difference for the Leopards is the progress of
junior setter Yesenia Lopez. She red-shirted her freshman year at
Cal State Bakersfield, then played there sparingly in 2006. She
transferred to La Verne last year where she again saw limited duty.

Flora was so concerned about the setter position he brought in three
newcomers to compete for the spot with sophomore Anna Calmer who
served as the backup last year. The emergence of Lopez allowed him to
move Calmer to hitter, giving the Leopards another weapon on the
outside and solving another problem.

It worked so well both Calmer and Lopez earned all-conference honors.
Flora gave all the credit Lopez.

``She was 100 percent committed to becoming a better player,'' he
said. ``She worked hard over the summer and got fit and got stronger.
It was all her. In addition to that she has become a very good leader
which is something you really want out of your setter.''

The Leopards have won nine straight SCIAC titles, last advancing to
the Elite Eight in 2005. Gonzales and senior Madison Bradley are the
holdovers from that team. They're prepared for another run.

``I'm really proud of this team, especially the young girls that have
improved so much'' Gonzales said. ``We're peaking at the right time
and we're ready.''

 

DIVISION II WEST REGION VOLLEYBALL

Site: Frantz Athletic Court, University of La Verne

Schedule: Thursday - No. 3 Cal Lutheran (24-6) vs. No. 6 Puget Sound
(17-7), 4:30 p.m.; No. 5 Nebraska Wesleyan (19-9) vs. No. 4 Pacific
Lutheran (20-6), 7 p.m.; Friday (semifinals) - No. 2 East Bay (29-4)
vs. Cal Lutheran-Puget Sound winner, 4:30 p.m.; No. 1 La Verne (23-2)
vs. Wesleyan-Pacific Lutheran winner, 7 p.m.; Saturday (Championship)
- 7 p.m.

Defending champion: Puget Sound

What's at stake: The winner will play in the Elite eight at the
Shirks Center at Illinois Wesleyan (Bloomington, Ill.) Nov. 20-22.

Comment: La Verne dropped to No. 4 in this week's AVCA poll despite
not losing. Five of the six teams in the field are ranked with East
Bay at No. 9, Cal Lutheran at No. 14, Pacific at No. 16 and Puget
Sound at No. 20.
Admission: Adults $6, students $5, children 12-under $4.

For the first time since Coussoulis Arena opened in 1995, Cal State San Bernardino's men's basketball team will be playing a home game away from campus.

The Coyotes, in an effort to reach out to faculty, staff and students at CSUSB's Palm Desert campus, are hosting Azusa Pacific University in an exhibition game at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night at College of the Desert, 43-500 Monterey St., Palm Desert.

CSUSB, ranked No. 20 in one national NCAA Division II poll and picked to win an eighth CCAA conference title by the conference coaches, will open the regular season on Sunday at 3 p.m. in Coussoulis Arena against University of Alaska-Fairbanks of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

Although it is an exhibition game for CSUSB which does not count toward its season record, it is a regular season game for the Cougars.

The Coyotes are coming off an 83-62 win over Vanguard University in their exhibition opener last Friday night in Coussoulis Arena, led by senior guard Tim Denson with 19 points and senior forward Michael Frazier with 18 points.

APU is 1-1 after defeating Montana Western 77-69 in Salt Lake City on Nov. 7 before losing to Westminster (Utah) 83-69, also at Salt Lake City on Nov. 8. The Cougars played an exhibition game at USC on Nov. 3 and lost 85-64.

COYOTES VS. COUGARS - APU leads the all-time series 6-1, including last season's 78-75 win over overtime over the Coyotes in Coussoulis Arena. APU returning guard Mike Danielian scored 17 points and returning center Dave Burgess took down 14 rebounds in that game.

COYOTES VS. NANOOKS - Alaska-Fairbanks leads the series 2-1 and two big wins they were, too. Behind all-American Brad Oleson's 30 points, seven rebounds and four assists, the Nanooks downed the Coyotes 82-78 in overtime in the 2004 NCAA West Regional semifinals in Coussoulis Arena. Then, Oleson was present with 12 points and five assists as Fairbanks beat the Coyotes 66-59 in the 2005 West Regional quarterfinals at Western Washington.

YOTES NOTES - Coyotes shot 53 percent from the field in the win over Vanguard....Tim Denson was six-for-nine en route to 19 points and four assists and three steals....Michael Frazier hit six of 10 shots and was four-of-seven from three-point land for 18 points....DuBois Williams, a 6-6 guard, had 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals....freshman center Jordan Richard had 10 points, three rebounds and two blocked shots....junior guard Larry DeHughes had a game-high six assists.....senior Reggie Brown, who missed the Vanguard game due to a sore knee, is expected to play against APU....senior Devon Davis remains on the shelf with back problems....Devin Montgomery is still awaiting clearance by the NCAA....

PROBABLE STARTERS: For CSUSB - Lawrence Tyson, Tim Denson, Jordan Richard, Ryan Kinney and DuBois Williams. For APU - Mike Danielian, Dave Burgess, Dominique Johnson, Kimarley Williams, Mike Caffese or Mike Meza.

COUGAR CLIPS - Azusa Pacific is coming off a 24-11 season (14-6 in the GSAC conference (2^nd place)....team was ranked as high as No. 8 in NAIA and finished No. 15....program has won 13 GSAC titles, made 15 NAIA tournament appearances, including the last 12 in a row....The program's all-time record for men's hoops is 945-505.....Mike Danielian is the leading returning scorer at 10.7 ppg in 2007-08...Dave Burgess averaged 9.6 points and 9.1 rebounds a game with 21 blocked shots....in the team's first two games this season, Dominique Johnson scored 18 against Montana Western and 17 against Westminster Utah....Burgess had 15 points and seven boards against Western Montana.....

NANOOKS NIBBLES - Alaska-Fairbanks has a new coach in interim head man Clemon Johnson. He has two volunteer assistants - Ted DeLeon and John Mancuso.....last year's leading scorer, 6-8 forward Colin Matteson (13.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg with 40 assists, 10 blocked shots and 21 steals) is back along with forward Mladen Begojevic (11.4 ppg, 34 assists).....Matteson had a season-high 31 points in a loss to Saint Martin's last March...Matteson's young brother, freshman Evan Matteson, 6-9, joined the team this season...UAF opens the regular season Saturday night at Cal State Dominguez Hills in a 7 p.m. match..

BROADCAST - Thursday night's game with Azusa Pacific will be broadcast live on KCAA-AM in San Bernardino and webcast at www.csusb.athletics.com (click on Listen Live on home page). Mitch McClellan and Brett Malak will be courtside with the call. Sunday's game with Alaska-Fairbanks will be webcast only.

           

Cal State San Bernardino is back in the driver's seat on its road to the post-season as the NCAA Division II championships committee put the Coyotes back in the No. 1 position in the West Region with two matches to play.

The Coyotes, ranked No. 2 in the nation, moved past CCAA rival UC San Diego into the No. 1 spot as they prepare for a showdown with No. 7 Cal State L.A. on Friday night at 7 p.m. in Coussoulis Arena. The Golden Eagles won the first meeting, 3-1, in L.A.

Meanwhile, UC San Diego, the No. 2 team, closes out the regular season on the road at Humboldt State on Friday and at No. 8 Sonoma State on Saturday. The Seawolves are 13-1 at home this season.

A win Friday to enable the Coyotes to clinch at least a tie for their third straight CCAA title and sixth in the last eight seasons with the season finale coming up Saturday night in Coussoulis Arena against conference cellar-dweller Cal State Dominguez Hills (3-23 overall, 2-16 in CCAA).

CSUSB brings a 23-3 record into the final weekend of the regular season, 15-3 in the CCAA. The  team is 77-8 since the start of the 2006 season and 51-5 in the CCAA.

Should the Coyotes finish out with a pair of wins this weekend, they should be No. 1 in the final regional poll due out Sunday night along with the announcement of the eight teams that will compete in the West Regional on Nov. 20-22.

CSUSB could well be the host for the three-day tournament if it meets the site selection criteria set by the NCAA. The Coyotes have hosted the last two regional tournaments, losing in the title match both times to UC San Diego (2006) and Western Washington (2007).

The Coyotes have an unprecedented string of reaching the regional title match for eight straight years, winning on two occasions (2003 and 2004), both at UC San Diego.

The Nov. 12 West Region Poll:

1.      CSUSB (23-3)

2.       UC San Diego (20-5)

3.       Cal Poly Pomona (16-7)

4.       Western Oregon (20-2)

5.       Chico State (18-10

6.       Western Washington (19-3)

7.       Cal State L.A. (20-5)

8.       Sonoma State (21-6)

9.       Central Washington (15-11)

10.   BYU-Hawaii (16-7).

Pomona-Pitzer quarterback Jacob Caron threw for 507 yards in a 64-33 loss to Occidental last week.

That's a pretty astounding total no matter who the competition is. But it's even more impressive given the opponent. This wasn't Principia, Menlo, Lewis & Clark or some other bottom feeder team. This came against an undefeated team. One with a national ranking. And the Tigers had their first-team defense in the entire game.

Caron is aided by a couple of solid receivers in Kevin Kelley and R.J. Maki. Kelly is the more athletic of the two. Maki is a hard-nosed player who also plays defense and on special teams. He is also a friend of Caron's since childhood and that has to help.

Caron is only a sophmore so he will likely break every career record the school has for a quarterback before he departs.

If he were on a winning team he would be a shoe-in for conference player of the year honors. It's too bad he doesn't have a little more talent around him. It would be fun to watch him play on a winning team.

The University of La Verne will hold a public memorial service for longtime football coach Roland Ortmayer on Nov. 22. Ortmayer, who led the Leopards for 43 years, passed away last month at 91.

The event is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the school's football stadium which is named after him.

The second part of the event will feature a video presentation with the final speakers in the adjacent Franz Athletic Court.

Among those schedule to speak are Rex Huigens, who coached with Ortmayer for 25 years and succeeded him as coach, as well as Steve Ortmayer, Roland's nephew and an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky.

 

 Others are Ortmayer's daughter Corlan, University President Steve Morgan and current Alta Loma High School coach and La Verne alum John Kusleika.

Those wanting to attend should RSVP the schools' alumni office at (909) 593-3511, ext. 4760 or by email at alumni@ulv.edu by Nov.19.

San Bernardino Valley College men's basketball team had a successful debut under new coach Quincy Brewer, going 3-0 at a tournament hosted by Los Angeles City College.

The Wolverines defeated Los Angeles Pierce 91-81, host Los Angeles City 94-86 and conference rival College of the Desert 104-88 in the championship game.

Sophomore guard Warren Fuselier earned Most Valuable Player honors, tossing in 20 points with five assists in the championship game. Also making the all-tournament team were freshman guard Alex Jacobs and freshman forward Maurice McGee.

Brewer isn't overexcited though.

"I'm never to up or too down. I'm always in the middle," he said. "We got big leads, like 18, 20 points. But then we didn't put teams away. We have to learn to do that."

The Wolverines will make their only home appearance until January Saturday when they host L.A. City at 3 p.m.

Most soccer coaches don't have the luxury of more than one good keeper. So San Bernardino Valley College women's coach Kristin Hauge considers herself blessed. She has four. It's one of the reasons the Wolverines (15-5-3) were able to clinch the first Foothill Conference title in school history and notch a school-record number of wins.

The SBVC quartet is led by sophomore Jackie Jaime (Kaiser HS) and also includes freshmen Natalie Guevara (Rialto), Maria Magana (Arroyo Valley) and Vanessa Vasquez (Moreno Valley Canyon Springs).

Hauge said she watches all four warm up before a game before making the decision on who will start.

"It's a bummer because it's hard to get them all playing time," she said. "They good thing is that they all work well together and they push each other every day in practice."

Magana got most of the playing time early and has a 1.35 goals against average in 1,197 minutes. Jaime, the starter last year, has seen more playing time of late because of her experience working with backfield defenders Serina Stephens, Tiffany Jones and Brianna Jones. Jaime has an 0.57 average in 636 minutes.

The Wolverines have totaled 11 shutouts with just one game left in the regular season, a 3 p.m. game at Chaffey on Wednesday.

Dave Hoover remembers a talk he had with a coach from a four-year school who had stopped by to watch his Victor Valley College football team practice several years ago. Hoover mentioned he was leaving early because his son had a baseball game.

"He just looked at me and said he couldn't remember the last time he saw his son play," the Rams coach said.

That comment hit home with Hoover, now in his ninth year directing the Rams.
Hoover has coached at the Division I level so he knows the grind and the lack of job security.

So he'll take the minor inconveniences in exchange for a more normal life away from the field.

That life away from the field includes sons Michael (18) and Zachary (20), fiancee Melissa Spillman and her two young sons, ages 7 and 10.

"If you're at that level and you're winning, you're moving on to something better. If you're losing, you're getting fired because you're not winning," he said. "There is no stability, no normalcy."

Hoover is noted for his fiery demeanor on the football field. But ask about his family and that hard-core exterior softens, especially when it comes to Michael, the one who shares his love for football.

Michael is in his senior year at Apple Valley High School. He has played multiple positions and is one of the team captains.

Despite a frenetic schedule that includes coaching and a full load of classes, Hoover hasn't missed an Apple Valley game, no matter where it is.

He makes the most of it.

"That's when I do a lot of my scouting," he said. "It gives me a chance to see a lot of players."

Despite his expertise, Hoover doesn't get in the way of the Sun Devil coaches who direct his son because he respects how head coach Frank Pulice runs his program.

"He has never said one word about anything we did," said Pulice, who also attends most Victor Valley games. "The only time he said anything was when I went to him and asked him about something. He has never been anything but supportive."

Michael excels at linebacker but has also seen time at fullback and even the offensive line where he was undersized at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds. It wasn't the best move for him personally but it was what the team needed at the time.

Pulice said the two have the same intensity but it manifests itself in different ways.

"They're actually polar opposites. Dave is very intense, very demonstrative. His intensity is more external. Mike has the same intensity but it's more internal. He doesn't have to say anything. It shows more in what he does."

Both Hoover-led teams have fallen on hard times. The Rams are coming off a 39-14 win over Compton but they're just 3-6 overall and 3-3 in the newly formed American Division Mountain Conference. They finish the season with a winnable 1 p.m. game Saturday at 2-7 Mt. San Jacinto.

The Sun Devils are 4-5 heading into Friday's regular season finale against 9-0 Hesperia.

Next year things should be a lot easier for the family because Dave expects his son to play for him at Victor Valley. What will likely make it easier for both is that Michael plays on the defensive side of the ball so he'll deal more directly with defensive coordinator Dale Bunn.

It will be the first time Hoover has coached his son in football, although he has coached him in youth baseball.

"He's always been hard on me so I know what to expect," Michael said. "He always pushed me harder than the other kids. I'm used to it."

Having a coach for a father also comes in handy.

"There's always an aspect of the game that he can explain that I don't understand," Michael said. "He knows me best so I always have someone to go to for answers."

University of La Verne volleyball standout Brianna Gonzales has been named the 2008 SCIAC Player of the Year after helping lead the Leopards to their ninth straight conference championship and second consecutive undefeated league mark.

Gonzales was joined by four other Leopards in the All-Conference awards as Crista Jones and Anna Calmer were First Team All-SCIAC selections while Yesenia Lopez and Ashley Morgado each earned Second Team nods.

Voting for the all-conference teams was conducted among the league's coaches.

Gonzales paced La Verne She tallied a team-high 310 kills (3.92 per game) while also collecting 274 digs which ranked second-most on the Leopard squad. She had a .268 overall hitting percentage on the season while hitting .304 in conference matches from her outside
hitter position. Gonzales also reached double figures in both kills and digs in 14 matches this season.

A senior from Whittier, Gonzales repeats as SCIAC Player of the Year from last season and becomes La Verne's first two-time Player of the Year since Amy Kratochvil (2002, 2004). Her selection marks the 16th time a La Verne student-athlete has earned SCIAC Player of the Year honors in volleyball.

Jones led La Verne in hitting percentage at .353 in all matches while hitting .397 in conference play. The junior middle blocker also tallied 225 kills (2.85 per game) in addition to leading the team in blocks with 72. Jones makes her third appearance on the All-SCIAC squad after a First Team selection in 2006 and a Second Team nod in 2007.

A sophomore from La Habra, Calmer earns her first selection to the All-SCIAC team after making a successful transition from setter to rightside hitter for the Leopards. Calmer finished the regular season with 157 kills, an average of 2.01 per game.

 

A junior from Hacienda Heights, Morgado makes her first All-SCIAC selection after collecting 123 kills. The middle blocker also registered 58 total blocks this season.

Lopez dished out a team-high 721 assists. The junior setter from West Covina helped La Verne record the highest team hitting percentage in the conference (.250) while averaging 8.90 assists per game which ranked second in SCIAC play.

La Verne finished the regular season with a 23-2 overall record including a 14-0 mark in the SCIAC to earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Leopards are currently ranked #3 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)
Division III Top 25 Poll.

 

The team includes:

Anna Calmer OH  ULV SO

Emily Hudson  OH CMS  FR
Summer Plante-Newman  OH CLU JR
Crista Jones M ULV JR
Allison Kerr  M CLU SO
Linsdey Benson  S CLU SR
Ruchi Patel L  PP SR


Second Team

Corri Hayes OH CLU JR
Helena Bottemiller  M CMS SR
Ashley Morgado  M ULV JR
Alex Harrison  S  CMS SR
Yesenia Lopez  S ULV JR
Chelsea Arcaris  L  UR SO

Erin Exline  M CLU SO

After reentering the D3football.com poll yesterday at No. 25, the University of Redlands football team also improved its standing on the America Football Coaches Association (AFCA) national poll by landing at No. 21 this week. 

 

On Saturday, the Bulldogs defeated Chapman University in a solid 21-7 effort that included a red-zone play for the Panthers that was halted by the second-best defense in the country. 

 

Redlands currently leads all of Division III in net punting and tackles for loss while ranking third in scoring defense.

 

Redlands (7-1, 4-1 SCIAC) hosts conference rival Cal Lutheran University in its regular-season finale on Saturday a 1 p.m.

 

Senior middle blocker Sara Rice of Cal State San Bernardino has been
named the Molten-California Collegiate Athletic Association women's
volleyball player of the week for her performances in two victories
last weekend.

The Yucaipa High School product averaged 3.83 kills per set and 1.16
blocks per set as the Coyotes stayed atop the CCAA standings with 3-0
shutout wins over Sonoma State and Humboldt State and improved their
national ranking from No. 3 to No. 2.

The 6-foot Rice had 14 kills and three blocks while hitting at a .545
clip as CSUSB handed Sonoma State its first home loss of the season
after 12 straight wins.

She followed that up with a team-leading nine kills and four blocks
on .533 hitting in the sweep of the Lumberjacks in Arcata. For the
two games she totaled 23 kills, two digs and seven blocks with a
combined hitting percentage of .541.

Rice leads the CCAA in hitting percentage at .407 with only 39 errors
in 334 attacks in 78 games over 26 matches.

The Coyotes, 23-3 overall and 15-3 in the CCAA, have a one-game lead
in the CCAA standings with two regular season matches at home left -
on Friday against third-place Cal State L.A. (13-5, 20-5 overall) and
on Saturday against cellar-dweller Cal State Dominguez Hills (3-23).

CSUSB can clinch a tie for its third straight CCAA title with a win
over L.A. on Friday. The Coyotes have won six of the last eight
conference championships.

Rice is the third Coyote to earn the weekly honor. Jessica Granados
and Sara Hoffman were lauded for their efforts earlier this season.

By Michelle Gardner

Staff Writer

Jeff Willey scored off an assist from Nick Gunderson 29 seconds into
the second overtime to give the top-seeded the University of Redlands
a 2-1 win over third-seeded Pomona-Pitzer in the championship game of
the SCIAC tournament.

The win sends the Bulldogs (16-4-1) into the Division III playoffs
with pairings to be announced Monday.

Redlands finished with a commanding 40-14 edge in shots. It also had
a goal late in regulation ruled no good. But Coach Ralph Perez
appreciated his team's determination.

"You have to overcome. Sometimes it's the opponent. Sometimes it's a
referee's decision,'' Perez said. ``Sometimes it's a game when things
aren't going your way.''

It was the second game in as many tries where the Bulldogs where
forced to double overtime. They defeated Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in
Thursday's semifinals 1-0.

``I've never been a big fan of the tournament because I think 14
games is enough,'' Perez said. ``But this does help make you
tournament tough, tournament ready.''

The Sagehens (10-7-3) scored first despite being outshot 27-8 to that
point. A Sagehen player was tripped inside the box on a breakaway and
Andrew Stamm converted the penalty kick to give the visitors a 1-0
lead with 16:50 left.

The Bulldogs appeared to answer with 12:47 left when Willey dished
the ball off to Bryan Fakkema who sent the ball to the right side of
the net sending the Bulldogs into celebration. But that proved
premature as the referee called the ball off the inside of the post.

It didn't take long for them to answer though. Just a minute later
Alex Parker did score from 15 yards out off a pass from Fakkema,
tying it at 1-all.

 

The Sagehens played the last 10 minutes of regulation a player short after a red card had been issued to one of their players after a hard tackle on the Bulldogs Alex Parker.

Pomona-Pitzer keeper Charlie Balter made 13 saves while Redlands'
Evan Hobson needed to make just three.

Senior libero Meghan Haas and junior setter Sara Hoffman of Cal State San Bernardino's women's volleyball team have been voted to the CoSIDA-ESPN The Magazine all-District 8 academic teams announced Thursday.

Haas was named to the first team and will be eligible for consideration for Academic All-America honors. Hoffman was voted to the third team.

A kinesiology major, Haas has a 3.83 cumulative grade point average. Hoffman, a business major with an emphasis in marketing, carries a 3.57 GPA.

They were among four CCAA conference student-athletes named to the three teams selected by sports information directors in District 8 (West Region) under the direction of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Haas is in her third season as the Coyotes' libero, averaging 4.61 digs per set with 22 service aces. She ranks third in the CCAA in digs per set and is among the top 50 in the nation in NCAA Division II.

Hoffman, a third-team all-American in 2007, leads the CCAA in assists at 11.73 per set and ranks No. 6 in the nation in that category. She also has 20 service aces.

Other CCAA players who received academic all District 8 honors were Rikki Buckshnis and Kristy Sather of Sonoma State University. Buckshnis was a first-team pick and Sather made the second team. Six players were named to each of the three teams.

The college division of CoSIDA includes NCAA Div. II and Div. III schools along with NAIA schools.

 It was a tale of two halves Saturday night in Coussoulis Arena with host Cal State San Bernardino winning the first half 38-33 and University of Nevada, Las Vegas, winning the second half to pull out a come-from-behind 63-55 exhibition victory over the Coyotes.

 

            A crowd of 313 watched CSUSB shoot 47 percent in the first half to lead the NCAA Division I Rebels of the Mountain West Conference by five points at the half after leading by as many as 10 points.

            However, a combination of Rebels defense and cold shooting by the Coyotes in the second half (seven for 37 - 19 percent) doomed CSUSB as UNLV caught up at 44-44 on a layup by Shamela Hampton, took the lead 46-44 on a layup by Dominique Harris and never trailed again.

            The win was the first for new UNLV Head Coach Kathy Olivier, who returned to her alma mater after 15 years at UCLA.

            Hampton led the Rebels with 17 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Erica Helms added 14 points, six assists and two steals while Harris had 10 points, six rebounds and a steal.

            Junior Krystal Urzua had a game-high 21 points and five rebounds for the Coyotes. Junior transfer Morgan Pryor came off the bench to score 11 points. Senior forward Jaclyn Rainville had 10 points and four rebounds.

            The Rebels shot 36 percent for the game (21 of 58) and were five of 16 from three-point range. CSUSB shot 32 percent for the game on 23 of 71, but hit just six of 29 from long range (20.7 percent). UNLV outrebounded the Coyotes 53-36.

            The Coyotes went up by six points with 11 minutes left in the first half, 22-16 on a jumper by Audrey Duran and by the 5:50 mark were up by 10 on a three-pointer by Urzua, 36-26.

            UNLV whittled away at the lead and went to the locker room leading 38-33 on a layup by Morgan Pryor.

            The Coyotes moved out to a 44-36 advantage four minutes into the second half on a jumper by Rainville but UNLV went to work and tied the game at 44 at the 13:14 mark. UNLV eventually led by 10, 58-48 on a layup by Hampton with 3:50 left in the game.

            CSUSB will host Dixie State at 2 p.m. on Nov. 15 in its regular season opener.

 

By Michelle Gardner

 

Staff Writer

 

REDLANDS - The first two times the women's soccer teams from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and the University of Redlands squared off, one goal made the difference. Each team won on its home field. So no one could be surprised that was the difference in the rubber match.

 

It was Athenas sophomore Laura Hagen chipping a shot in from 20 yards out 20 minutes into the second half to give the third-seeded CMS squad a 1-0 win over the top-seeded Bulldogs in the SCIAC Championship at Farquhar Field Saturday night. The win sends CMS (11-8-1) into the playoffs as the conference representative.

 

Redlands (14-5-1), which topped the conference in the regular season, will have to wait and see if it gets an at-large bid.

 

The Bulldogs had a 21-10 edge in shots, many of those coming in the last 10 minutes in which they dominated play but nothing got past keeper Camila Friedman-Gerlicz.

 

``I think I've aged 10 years in the last 10 minutes,'' CMS coach Keri Sanchez said. ``They're a great team and we knew it was going to be a hard-fought battle. It was a relief to score the first goal but we knew they were going to battle.''

 

The Bulldogs had not allowed a goal since a 1-0 double overtime loss to Pomona-Pitzer on Oct. 11. They came in with a streak of seven straight shutouts that included a 3-0 win over the University of La Verne in Wednesday's tournament semifinal.

 

CMS lost four of its last five regular season games and needed a penalty kick shootout to get past Cal Lutheran 3-2 in the semifinal.

 

``We definitely felt like the underdog coming in,'' Hagen said. ``They had been playing very well and we kind of backed in. It feels good to get one when it really matters.''

 

Twelve minutes after the Athenas made it 1-0, the Bulldogs had a great chance. A shot by Becky Willis was knocked away by a diving Friedman-Gerlicz. The ball deflected back to Emily van den Bosch but her shot was just over the crossbar.

 

The Bulldogs had even better chances in the second half. A shot by Kelsey Kimmel from 25 yards out with 5:03 was wide left. A minute later Kaily Benanti dribbled toward the net but the ball she never got a good swing at the ball and it slipped off the left corner of the net.

 

Then in the last minute and Redlands in desperation mode a direct kick by Chelsea Hafley  went right of the goal and out of bounds before a teammate could catch up to it. That proved to be the Bulldogs last chance.

 

Friedman-Gelicz made nine saves while Redlands counterpart Tenley Rawlings made seven.

 

The Division III playoff draw will be announced Monday. It will be another wait-and-see for the Bulldogs who have won the regular season two of the last three years, only to lose in the tournament.

 

``The SCIAC hasn't been very lucky when it comes to getting a second team in,'' Redlands coach Suzette Soboti said. ``This is disappointing because we had so many good chances. We were just a little unlucky.''

 

 

 

 

Congratulations go out to UC Riverside freshman Chad Hall of Big Bear who was named Less Big West Freshman of the Year in cross ocuntry. Coach Irv Ray was named Coach of the Year.

Ray led the UC Riverside program to new heights in just its eighth year of
Division I membership. After finishing last in the women¹s race at the
conference meet as recently as 2004, the Highlanders claimed their first Big
West cross country championship this season.

The Highlandersd had two top-10 finishers at the conference meet in Cristina Olivas (Bloomington HS) and Brenda Martinez (Rancho Cucamonga HS), achieved its highest regional ranking ever (#5) and received votes in the national poll.

Hall had a big impact on the UCR program in his first year of competition.
Hall is not only the first Highlander to ever win a major Big West cross
country award, but also is the first non-Cal Poly runner to win Men¹s
Freshman of the Year accolades. At the UCR Invitational, he blazed to a
24:04.9 finish, setting the school and course record. The two-time Big West
Athlete of the Week also finished 11th at the conference meet, finishing the
race in 24:50.

Less than one week after the UC Riverside Cross Country
Teams competed in the Big West Championships, Head Coach Irv Ray and
freshman Chad Hall (Big Bear, CA) were honored by the Big West Conference.
Coach Ray won the 2008 Women's Coach of the Year distinction while Hall was
named 2008 Men's Freshman of the Year.

Ray led the UC Riverside program to new heights in just its eighth year of
Division I membership. After finishing last in the women¹s race at the
conference meet as recently as 2004, the Highlanders claimed their first Big
West cross country championship this season. Ray¹s club had two top-10
finishers at the conference meet in Cristina Olivas (Bloomington, CA) and
Brenda Martinez (Rancho Cucamonga, CA), achieved its highest regional
ranking ever (#5) and received votes in the national poll.

Hall had a big impact on the UCR program in his first year of competition.
Hall is not only the first Highlander to ever win a major Big West cross
country award, but also is the first non-Cal Poly runner to win Men¹s
Freshman of the Year accolades.

 

At the UCR Invitational, he blazed to a 24:04.9 finish, setting the school and course record. The two-time Big West Athlete of the Week also finished 11th at the conference meet, finishing the race in 24:50.

Both Highlander squads return to action on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 11:00 am at the NCAA West Regional in Palo Alto.

After a successful debut in 2007, the Division II Disney's West Coast Tip-Off Classic will returns this weekend when the eight-team field, including four men's and four women's teams, opens Friday at the Anaheim Convention Center.in Anaheim.

"The CCAA is extremely excited and happy to help sponsor this expanded Disney Classic event," CCAA Commissioner Robert J. Hiegert said. "This is a premier event and it has already proven to add to the prestige of Division II basketball. I am pleased to continue our relationship with Disney."

The tournament format calls for four games - two men's and two women's - to be played each day over three days.

The men's field will be comprised of Alaska-Anchorage, Fort Lewis College, Humboldt State, Southwest Minnesota State. The women's field will include Cal Poly Pomona, Central Washington, Concordia, St. Paul and the University of Indianapolis.

Three of the four teams on the men's side advanced to NCAA post-season play during the 2007-08 campaign. Alaska Anchorage captured the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) title and reached the NCAA Division II semifinals. Senior forward Cameron Burney (5.5 ppg., 4.3 rpg., 1.3 apg.) is the lone returning starter from last year's Seawolves team that concluded the season with a program-best 29-6 overall record.

Fort Lewis College also enjoyed a program-high in wins after posting a 24-6 overall record, capturing the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) before suffering a first-round loss in the NCAA Championships.

Humboldt State grabbed a share of the 2008 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) title after posting a 22-8 overall record, including a 15-5 mark in conference play. After being upset in the first round of the CCAA Tournament, the Lumberjacks suffered a first-round loss in the NCAA West Regional Championships.

Sophomore guard Ernie Spada is the top returning player for Humboldt State after averaging 6.1 points, 1.6 assists and 1.4 rebounds a contest.

Southwest Minnesota State registered a 17-12 overall mark a year ago and finished third in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) with an 11-7 conference mark. Junior forward Ross DeMasi returns as the Mustangs' leading scorer after averaging 9.6 points and 3.9 rebounds a game.

On the women's side, Cal Poly Pomona recorded a 12-16 overall record, including an 8-12 mark in CCAA play. After finishing third in the regular-season standings, the Broncos advanced to the second round of the CCAA Tournament.

Central Washington concluded the 2007-08 campaign with a 13-13 overall mark and placed eighth in the GNAC with a 5-13 record.

Concordia, St. Paul captured the NSIC Tournament title before suffering a first-round loss in the first round of the North Central Regional Tournament. The Golden Bears concluded last season with a 28-3 overall mark, including a 16-2 record in conference play.

The University of Indianapolis tied for first place in the East Division of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) with a 13-6 conference mark before falling in the opening round of the Great Lakes Regional Tournament and concluding the season with a 22-8 overall record.

2008 Division II Disney's West Coast Tip-Off Classic Schedule

Friday, November 7

MEN Game 1 - Southwest Minnesota State vs. Alaska-Anchorage; Noon
Game 2 - Fort Lewis College vs. Humboldt State; 2:30 p.m.

WOMEN Game 1- Concordia, St. Paul vs. Central Washington; 5:00 p.m.
Game 2 - Indianapolis vs. Cal Poly Pomona; 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 8

WOMEN
Game 3 - Concordia, St. Paul vs. Cal Poly Pomona; Noon
Game 4 - Central Washington vs. Indianapolis;  2:30 p.m.

MEN
Game 3 - Humboldt State vs. Southwest Minnesota State; 5:00 p.m.
Game 4 - Alaska-Anchorage vs. Fort Lewis College; 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 9

MEN
Game 5 - Fort Lewis College vs.  Southwest Minnesota State;  11:00 a.m.
Game 6 - Humboldt State vs.  Alaska-Anchorage; 1:30 p.m.

WOMEN
Game 5 - Indianapolis vs. Concordia, St. Paul; 4:00 p.m.
Game 6 - Cal Poly Pomona vs, Central Washington; 6:30 p.m.

For the seventh consecutive match, the No. 20 University of Redlands women's soccer team shut out its opponent, taking out the University of La Verne by a 3-0 score in the semifinal round of the 2008 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament on Wednesday at Farquhar Field.

 

After a scoreless first half, sophomore midfielder Jessi Hoyt (Boise, ID) took a pass from freshman midfielder Jaimie Morton (Boise, ID) and chipped a shot over Leopard keeper Tatiana Gutierrez's head for the first goal of the match.

 

Freshman midfielder Fionna Connolly (Salem, OR) tacked on the second score of the contest with a goal off of a through ball from senior forward Erica Jahn (Davis, CA) while sophomore defender Chelsea Hafley (Redlands, CA) secured the victory at the 85-minute mark from a shot driven well outside of the box, marking the third time she has found the back of the net this season.

 

The Bulldogs outshot the visiting Leopards by a 26-9 margin and received seven corner kicks to La Verne's three.

 

With Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges advancing on penalty kicks (3-2) after a 0-0 tie against Cal Lutheran University in the first semifinal round game, Redlands (14-4-1, 9-3 SCIAC) will host the Athenas on Saturday, Nov. 8 at a time to be determined. The winner of the match on Saturday will get the SCIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs.

 

The Cal Poly Pomona women's basketball team gets a jump on the competition starting the season tonight in the Disney West Coast Classic at the Anaheim Convention Center. That has its positives and negatives but presents a challenge for a team comprised mostly of newcomers.

 

``It is a little tough now but hopefully will help us come conference time,'' second-year coach Scott Davis said. ``We start out with a couple of tough games so we need to know exactly what we've got. This will help us do that.''

 

The Broncos (12-16, 8-12) will face Indianapolis (22-8) at 7:30 tonight. They will take on Concordia-St. Paul (28-3) at noon Saturday and round out the tournament with a 6:30 p.m. game Sunday against Central Washington (I13-13).

 

Davis has just three players back, only two of whom saw considerable playing time. That trio consists of sophomore guard Reyana Colson 13.1 ppg, 5 rpg), senior Unique Anderson (3.2 ppg, 2 rpg) and senior forward Neha Joshi.

 

Unfortunately Colson, the CCAA Freshman of the Year in 2007, is sidelined with a knee injury. Davis said the injury isn't season-ending but Colson isn't expected back any time soon.

 

``She is the focal point of our team so obviously we're a different team without her," Davis said. ``We're not pushing it. When we get her back, she needs to be healthy.''

 

Two other players decided not to play but are still enrolled at the school. A pair of others transferred to schools in the conference - Anna Pineda to Monterey Bay and Andrea Ohlssen to San Francisco State.

 

Davis is high on a number of his newcomers, most notably junior forward Stephisha Walton, a transfer from Division I Portland State,  6-foot-1 freshman center Megan Ford (Hart HS), freshman guard Rosslyn Beard (San Francisco Sacred Heart Cathedral) and 6-2 freshman center Nicolette Brown (Long Beach Poly). Brown is sidelined with a broken foot but expected back soon.

 

The Broncos will also be bolstered by the return of senior Ally Smith, who started for two years before having to red-shirt last season with a shoulder injury.

 

Despite the early injuries, Davis is pleased with the talent he sees.

 

``We have a lot of girls that are versatile and can play different positions,'' he said. ``We're not going to be locked into playing someone in one spot.''

 

 

The University of Redlands men's soccer team lived to play another day as it squeaked past Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in double overtime by a score of 1-0 in the semifinal round of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament on Thursday at Farquhar Field.

 

With a large crowd on hand, the two teams faced off in an epic battle that served as just another chapter in the rivalry between both schools, and the hard-fought defensive battle kept everyone in attendance on the edge of their seats.

 

Just 1:33 into the second overtime period, junior midfielder Cale Rodriguez (Norwalk, CA) took a corner from the left side of the goal, which marked the eighth occasion that the Bulldogs had a corner kick opportunity. He hooked a ball into the box, and junior midfielder Nick Gundersen (Park City, UT) emerged out of a crowd and put a head on the ball. Gundersen's shot sailed past Stag goalkeeper Ryan Fahey, and the goal effectively ended the game and kept NCAA playoff hopes alive for Redlands.

 

Junior goalkeeper Evan Hobson (San Diego, CA) posted the shutout, saving four shots on the evening. The Gundersen goal spoiled an otherwise spectacular night for Fahey in goal as the junior keeper notched nine saves.

 

The Bulldogs held the shot advantage as the team uncorked 22 attempts to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps' 10.

 

Redlands (15-4-3, 12-0-2 SCIAC) squares off against Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Saturday in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament final at Farquhar Field at 7:30 p.m. The winner of the match will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs.

 

After seven seasons heading the men's soccer program at Cal Poly Pomona, Paul Caligiuri has resigned.

Caligiuri said he told his team before its final regular season game against UC San Diego on Sunday at Kellogg Field. He plans to pursue other interests and wanted to give the school as much time as possible to search for his successor.

"I really thought it was the right time," he said. "It was an emotional, difficult decision. I had a great time here and I will always feel like I'm part of the Bronco family."

Caligiuri's overall record in seven seasons with the men's team was 45-67-16 (35-52-12 in the CCAA). This year the Broncos went 4-11-3 overall and 2-10-2 in conference.

He also spent four years simultaneously heading the women's program, going 37-31-1 from 2002-2005.

"Looking back now I don't know how I did it," he said, of coaching both teams. "It was a challenge."

Caligiuri, a former member of the Los Angeles Galaxy and the U.S. National Team, was inducted to the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in 2005 after playing professionally for 18 years.
From 1984-97, Caligiuri was a member of the U.S. National Team with 110 game appearances. He participated in two World Cups (1990, 1994) and the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea.

Caligiuri played professionally in Germany and became the first American player to make a Division I professional team in Europe, completing his career with St. Pauli, German Bundesliga in 1995.

In 1996, Caligiuri played for the Columbus Crew of the newly-founded Major Soccer League. After one year with the Crew, Caligiuri was assigned to the Galaxy. Caligiuri, who graduated from Walnut High School and UCLA, said he will probably look into rejoining the Galaxy in some capacity.

The University of Redlands football team continues to inch its way back up the America Football Coaches Association (AFCA) national poll by landing at No. 22 this week, improving two spots from last week. 

 

On Saturday, the Bulldogs captured an impressive 52-14 victory over Pomona-Pitzer Colleges.  In the win, Redlands put together a balanced attack that included equal yardage on the ground and in the air.  T

 

he team utilized three quarterbacks and looked to a variety of ball carriers and receivers.  The third-ranked rush defense continued to impress and allowed only 12 yards on the ground for the Sagehens.  Leading the nation in tackles for a loss, the Bulldogs posted 14 TFL of 88 yards against Pomona-Pitzer.

 

Redlands (6-1, 4-1 SCIAC) returns to Ted Runner Stadium for its final two games of the regular season, hosting regional rival Chapman University on Saturday at 1 p.m.  The Bulldogs' finale brings Cal Lutheran University to Redlands on November 15 for a 1 p.m. kick-off.

 

The University of Redlands football team has to be happy with the outcome of Saturday's other SCIAC game. Occidental beat Cal Lutheran 24-21 in a classic. There was a good scenario for Redlands in either case but an Oxy win was probably for the best.

Had Cal Lutheran won and Redlands were to run the table - those three teams would have ended in a three-way tie atop the conference. Yes, you always want to win a title, even if its a share of one. But you also want a chance at the playoffs and the Bulldogs wouldn't have had one if Cal Lutheran had won.

In the case of a three-way tie, Cal Lutheran would go to the playoffs as the SCIAC rep based on the Rosel Bowl rule since it has been eons since the Kingsmen have been to the playoffs.

In that case Oxy and Redlands would go into Pool C for playoff consideration. Pool A is for automatic qualifiers and Pool B is for independents worthy of consideration. Pool C is for conference runner-ups. And if both Oxy and Redlands are sitting there with 8-1 records and the SCIAC gets a second berth (which rarely happens), Oxy would go because of its head-to-head win over the Bulldogs.

This way Redlands has a shot at being the runner-up all alone. They have been ranked much of the year and played a decent enough caliber of competition in nonconference to at least be in the discussion.

This is a talented Redlands team and it would be too bad if they didn't have any shot.

Cal State San Bernardino senior Micah Burke has been selected as the California Collegiate Athletic Association golfer of the week for his performance in leading the Coyotes to a fourth-place finish in the Bill Cullum Invitational Golf Tournament Oct. 27-28, hosted by Cal State Northridge.

Burke, a Los Angeles resident, shot six-under-par 210 for 54 holes to finish fifth among the individual golfers in a tournament where nine of the 11 teams were NCAA Division I. Only CSUSB and Cal State San Marcos were not D-1 teams.

Burke shot rounds of 70-68-72 over the 6,761-yard, par-72 Wood Ranch Golf Club in Simi Valley. He had 15 birdies in the tournament, third best in the field and played the par-5s in seven under par and the par-3s in even par.

Teammate Gene Webster Jr. also broke par for the tournament with a one-under total of 215 as CSUSB finished 19 shots behind tournament champion Cal State Northridge.

Earlier this fall, Burke helped the Coyotes win the Grand Canyon Fall Invitational by shooting three-under-par 213 to finish sixth.

 

The 23rd-ranked University of Redlands men's soccer team used its potent offense to lift itself over conference rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges by a 3-2 final on Saturday in Claremont.

 

With the win, the Bulldogs ensured a third meeting between the two teams in the first round of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament on Thursday. Redlands has had the upper hand in the series thus far this year as the maroon and gray has won both matches by scores of 2-0 and 3-2.

 

The Stags struck first when Tomislav Zbozinek netted a goal in the 43rd minute, giving the home team a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.

 

Momentum returned to Redlands' favor in the 47th minute as senior midfielder Bryan Fakkema (Oak Harbor, WA) scored the equalizing goal on a penalty kick.

 

Mitchell Nguyentat fired a Kevin Festini pass to the back of the net just two minutes later, and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps regained the lead 2-1.

 

Amidst brief periods of rain, both teams were unable to make a move offensively for nearly 20 minutes until junior midfielder Nick Gundersen (Park City, UT) headed in a goal off of a touch from senior forward Ross Schunk (Portland, OR).

 

With less than five minutes left to play, Gundersen tallied his second goal of the match when he pounded a cross by senior midfielder Steve Chenes (Las Vegas, NV) home for the game-winning score.

 

Redlands (14-4-2, 12-0-2 SCIAC) hosts the semifinal round of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament on Thursday and squares off against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 7:30 p.m. on Farquhar Field. The winner of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs.

 

The University of Redlands women's soccer team paid tribute to its four seniors in the grandest way possible, winning the 2008 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship with a 1-0 victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges.

 

Prior to the start of the match, the team recognized senior forward Erica Jahn (Davis, CA), senior midfielder Steffany Becker (Las Vegas, NV), senior midfielder Becky Willis (Escondido, CA) and senior midfielder Lauren Matta (Holyoke, MA) for their years of service to the Bulldog women's soccer team.

 

Two seniors combined to generate the match's lone goal as Willis scored in the 23rd minute off of a long pass by Jahn. That score was enough to lift Redlands to its fourth-ever SCIAC title and its second in three years.

 

Junior goalkeeper Tenley Rawlings (Salt Lake City, UT) kept a clean sheet between the pipes, stopping all four shots on frame.

 

The Bulldogs held the shot advantage 18-11 and outchanced the Athenas on corner kicks as well (3-2).

 

Coming into the match, the team needed at least a tie to claim the title outright. A loss would have resulted in a shared title with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

 

Head Coach Suzette Soboti, who is now in her 11th year at the helm of the squad, has coached all four SCIAC-champion Bulldog teams.

 

Redlands (13-4-1, 9-3 SCIAC) hosts the semifinal games of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament on Wednesday, and the maroon and gray will play in the second of two games against the No. 4 seed,  the University of La Verne. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. at Farquhar Field. The winner of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs.

 

Cal State San Bernardino's untimely loss at the hands of Cal Poly Pomona last Wednesday was enough to drop the Coyotes from No. 2 to No. 3 this week in the Bison/American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 poll.

The Coyotes, 21-3, have lost to the No. 18 Broncos (0-3), No. 12 UCSD (3-2 earlier in the season) and No. 20 Cal State L.A. (3-1), all on the road. The Coyotes are 12-0 at home this year.

Concordia-St. Paul, the 2007 NCAA Division II champion, leads the poll with its 27-1 record, the only loss coming at the hands of the Coyotes, 3-0, back in August at the Coyote Classic tournament. CSP earned all 36 first-place votes from the committee.

Grand Valley State of the Great Lakes Conference moved up from No. 4 to No. 2 on the basis of its 24-2 record while West Texas A&M advanced from No. 6 to No. 4 with a 27-4 record. Emporia State (28-2) jumped from eighth to fifth.

UCSD, a 3-2 winner of Pomona on Wednesday, moved up three places in the poll despite being swept by the Coyotes. Pomona also moved up two spots despite a weekend split.

L.A. dropped from 13^th to 20^th after losing on the road to Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus, a team with just three conference wins and a 6-20 overall record.

The Coyotes, 13-3 in the CCAA and ranked No. 2 in the Pacific Region, hold a one-game lead in the CCAA standings with four to play, starting Friday night at Sonoma State where the Seawolves are 12-0 in their gym this season and ranked No. 6 in the Pacific Region. SSU is 20-5 and tied with UCSD and Cal Poly Pomona for second place in the CCAA at 12-4.

CSUSB finishes the road trip on Saturday night at Humboldt State (7-9 CCAA, 9-14 overall).

The next regional poll won't be out until Nov. 12 so UCSD will continue to hold down the No. 1 spot until then despite losing to the No. 2 Coyotes last Saturday.

                        BISON/AVCA DIVISION II TOP 25

1.       Concordia St. Paul (27-1)

2.       Grand Valley State (24-2)

3.      COYOTES (21-3)

4.       West Texas A&M (27-4)

5.       Emporia State (28-2)

6.       Southwest Minnesota State (24-4)

7.       Wasburn (27-3)

8.       Nebraska-Kearney (29-2)

9.       Tampa (22-4)

10.   Truman (25-7)

11.  Western Washington (18-2); 12. UC San Diego (18-5); 13. Florida Southern (22-7); 14. Central Missouri (25-8); 15. West Florida (20-6); 16. California (PA) 34-1); 17. Minnesota Duluth (20-7); 18. Cal Poly Pomona (15-6); 19. Pittsburg State (23-7); 20. Cal State L.A. (18-5); 21. Augustana SD (19-9); 22. Lewis (26-6); 23. Wayne State (21-6); 24. Western Oregon (18-2); 25. Northern Kentucky (24-6).

With Sunday's conclusion of the regular season, seedings and match times are now set for the 2008 California Collegiate Collegiate Athletic Association Championships that are scheduled for November 7-9 at Triton Soccer Stadium on the campus of UC San Diego in La Jolla, Calif.

The tournament format consists of eight men's and women's teams competing in semifinal contests on Friday with the championship matches slated for Sunday.

Defending men's champion and South Division winner Cal State Dominguez Hills (16-2-2, 10-2-2) is the No. 2 seed and will take on No. 4 seed Chico State (13-5, 9-5) in the tournament's first match at 11 a.m. Top-seed and North Division champion Sonoma State (17-2-2, 11-1-2) will take on No. 3 Cal State L.A. (13-3-2, 9-3-2) at 1:30 p.m.

The two winners will meet at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Sonoma State (15-4-1, 10-3-1), which tied San Francisco State (12-6-2, 10-3-1) for the top spot in the North Division, will play No. 4 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills (12-8, 9-5) in the opening women's match at 4:30 p.m. Host and No. 3 seed UC San Diego (13-3-3, 9-3-2) will meet San Francisco State at 7 p.m.

The women's championship match is scheduled for 2 p.m.

2008 CCAA Soccer Championships
November 7-9; La Jolla, Calif.

Friday, November 7

Men

Match 1: Cal State Dominguez Hills (16-2-2, 10-2-2) vs. Chico State (13-5, 9-5); 11 a.m.
Match 2: Sonoma State (17-2-2, 11-1-2) vs. Cal State L.A. (13-3-2, 9-3-2); 1:30 p.m.

Women

Match 1: Sonoma State (15-4-1, 10-3-1) vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills (12-8, 9-5); 4:30 p.m.
Match 2: San Francisco State (12-6-2, 10-3-1) vs. UC San Diego (13-3-3, 9-3-2); 7 p.m.

Sunday, November 9

Men's Championship; 11:30 a.m.
Women's Championship; 2 p.m.

By Michelle Gardner

Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO - There is nothing like a big rivalry game with
everything on the line to cure what ails a team.

The No. 2 Cal State San Bernardino volleyball team came in to
Saturday's match against UC San Diego reeling after a 3-0 loss to Cal
Poly Pomona Wednesday. But the Coyotes regrouped and steamrolled
their arch-rival 3-0 (27-25, 25-13, 25-16) at Coussoulis Arena.

Of course it helped that the match was for first place in the CCAA
and most likely the top spot in the West Region. The Coyotes (21-3,
13-3) now have a one game lead over No. 15 San Diego (18-5, 12-4) and
Cal Poly Pomona (15-6, 12-4) with Cal State Los Angeles (18-5, 11-5) in striking distance
with four matches left.

``We have always had at least a share of the lead and that is
something in the bloodbath that is the conference,'' Coyotes coach
Kim Cherniss said. ``We watched the Cal Poly match over on Thursday
and addressed some things we did wrong and worked specifically on
them. It paid off.''

Only the first game was a battle. It was tied 14 times, the last at
25-all. But a kill by Samantha Middleborn gave the Coyotes a game
point and they converted with Jane Chafeh knocking home the winner.

Cal State was in control the last two games. The second was even at
11 but the Coyotes took a command with a 10-point run that included
two kills by Middleborn and two service aces by Kelcie Tolan. Up
24-3, Cal State converted its first game point with Jessica Granados
lining a winner off a blocker.

The Coyotes surged out to a 14-11 lead in the third game, but tallied
11 of the next 12 points with four different players factoring in
that run. Cal State wrapped up the match on their first try when Sara
Rice blocked a tip by Cara Simonsen.


The Coyotes hit a lofty .337 for the match with Granados notching 15
kills. Rice contributed seven with Ashtin Hall and Middleborn
collecting six each. Cherniss singled out junior setter Sara Hoffman
who added to her conference-leading assist total with 37.

``We gave her a very definite assignment on who we wanted to go to
and where in certain situations and she was absolutely on-point,''
Cherniss said. ``And sometimes that's difficult to do when you're
running around out there and the pace is hectic.''

``It didn't matter who it was. We came out determined to dominate,''
Hoffman said. ``We tried to play every ball like it was our last
point.''

Cal State held San Diego to a .153 hitting percentage. It won the
battle of digs 42-27 with Meghan Haas celebrating her 21st birthday
with a team-high 16. Granados added nine.

The win avenged a 3-2 Coyotes loss at San Diego earlier this season.

The Coyotes will be on the road next weekend for matches at Sonoma
State and Humboldt State.

The Cal State San Bernardino volleyball team hit a bump in the road Wednesday when it was throttled by local rival Cal Poly Pomona.

But the Coyotes were back to their normal selves on Saturday, upending their bitter rival UC San Diego 3-0 (27-25, 25-13, 25-16) to move into first place in the tough CCAA.

Three teams are tied for second a game out - Cal Poly, San Diego and Cal State Los Angeles. There are four matches left so it will be battle to the finish line.

As poorly as the Coyotes played in the clutch on Wednesday, they were near perfect against the Tritons.

Jessica Granados slammed home 15 winners. But there were plenty of other contributors. Samantha Middleborn, a freshman out of Rialto, came up big.

Order has been restored.

The season hasn't even started yet and already the Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team is racked with injuries.

It started over the summer when top recruit Kevin Ryan tore a knee up playing in open gym. Then the first week of practice San Bernardino native Donnelle Booker injured a knee. He is probably out for three months so he could return with the option of red-shirting there if he can't.

Then Division I bounceback Walter Thompson injured his hand.

The hits keep on coming.

Coach Greg Kamansky said he only has eight healthy players. And that is counting a walk-on.

He thought he had all the pieces to contend in the always-tough CCAA. And he still might but others are going to have to step up early. Booker and Thompson should be able to return and the Broncos still have Larry Gordon.

And there is no better coach at making something out of nothing than Kamansky.