No. 24 Flagler falls to top-ranked Cal State San Bernardino 3-0
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Priscilla Collings came off the
bench to record a match-high 11 kills and help lead top-ranked
(AVCA Division II Top 25) Cal State San Bernardino to a 3-0 (25-20,
25-16, 25-12) win over No. 24 Flagler College in a NCAA Division II
Women’s Volleyball National Quarterfinal Thursday night at
Coussoulis Arena.
CSUSB improved to 31-0 on the season and extended its home court
winning streak to 65 matches. The Coyotes will take on Hillsdale
College in the second semifinal tomorrow (Dec. 2). Flagler ended
its season with a 31-7 record and had its 15-match winning streak
snapped.
“We just didn’t get into a rhythm,” said Flagler
head volleyball coach Taylor Mott. “They made it difficult
for us to do anything.”
Mott completed her 13th year at the helm of the Flagler
volleyball program with a record of 304-158 (.659 winning
percentage). She is a three-time Peach Belt Conference Coach of the
Year and a three-time Florida Sun Conference Coach of the Year.
Mott’s teams have recorded 20 or more wins in each of the
last 11 seasons. She and her husband, Brian, and their two
children, will relocate to Tennessee at the end of the month.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything better,”
said Mott. “I am really proud of the girls.”
Collings hit .357 in a reserve role as she only had one error on
28 swings. Megan Johnson added 10 kills with one error on 19 swings
for a .474 hitting percentage. Two-time AVCA Division II Player of
the Year Samantha Middleborn recorded eight kills and added four
total blocks. Two-time AVCA Division II All-America Camille Smith
recorded a double-double with 33 assists and 12 digs.
The Coyotes hit .346 for the match and recorded 7.0 total team
blocks.
AVCA Division II Third Team All-America Olivia Snipes led the
Saints with her 19th double-double of the season with 25
assists and 10 digs. Peach Belt Conference Libero of the Year
winner Casey Gnann collected a match-high 21 digs. Emilee Taylor,
Dianna Craine, and Sophie Meyer each recorded six kills.
Flagler was held to a .088 hitting percentage.
The Coyotes raced out to a 7-2 lead in the first set and never
trailed. The Saints closed the gap to 13-10 after a kill by Meyer,
but CSUSB countered with a 6-3 run to take control back. The
Coyotes held set point (24-17), but the Saints fought off three set
points before a Middleborn kill ended the set 25-20. Johnson led
CSUSB with six kills and recorded a .600 hitting percentage.
Collings added five kills.
Flagler jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second set after a pair of
kills by Meyer and others from Taylor and Rachel Stacy. A
double-block by Middleborn and Smith tied the set up at 7-all, but
Flagler went on a 4-1, capped by a Craine kill to give the Saints
an 11-8 lead. The Coyotes closed to 11-10 after a hitting error by
the Saints, but Smith followed with a service error to give Flagler
a 12-10 lead. A Johnson spike started a 9-1 run by the Coyotes to
swing the momentum back to CSUSB. The coyotes went on to take the
set 25-16. Taylor recorded four kills for the Saints.
Cal State San Bernardino raced out to a 12-4 lead in the third set
and never looked back. Flagler rallied to close the deficit with
its own 6-1 run as an Abby Meyers kill induced a CSUSB timeout with
the score 13-10. But the Coyotes closed the set, and the match, by
recording the last eight points in a row.






















