SAN FRANCISCO — Cal State Monterey Bay volleyball's historic run to its first postseason bid at the NCAA level came to an Thursday night as top–seeded Cal State San Bernardino earned a 25–15, 26–24, 25–11 win over the Otters in the CCAA Championship quarterfinals in The Swamp on the campus of San Francisco State.

San Bernardino looked every bit the top seed and CSUMB looked like the postseason rookie early as the Otters never found their footing in the opening set. But the Otters got their sea legs under them and never trailed in the second set until three consecutive kills by CCAA Player of the Year Lauren Nicholson staved off two Otter set points and gave the Coyotes the set.

It was 5–3 in the third set when San Bernardino embarked on a 17–2 run to put the match on ice.

Senior Maddy Underwood (Spokane, Wash./Mead HS) led CSUMB with nine kills, becoming just the 13th player in Otter history to reach 300 kills in a season (308). Junior libero Ashlynne Armstrong (Norco HS) led the defense with 24 digs.
 

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THE MATCH WAS OVER WHEN… a Lydia Morohunfola kill started a 17–2 run that turned a 5–3 Coyote lead in the third set into a 22–5 advantage.

DIG THIS… Ashlynne Armstrong's 24 digs were the fourth–most ever in a 3–set match by an Otter. Armstrong's previous best in a 3–set match was 23 digs at Cal State San Marcos on Oct. 28.

HIT THAT… Maddy Underwood's nine kills lifted her career total to 702. She becomes just the seventh player in Otter history to amass 700 career kills.

A HELPING HAND… Erica Chapa added 23 assists and three kills to her larder Thursday night. The 23 helpers bring her season–total to 955, good for No. 3 on the Otter single–season list. Her 23 kills bring her season total to 110, the single–season record for an Otter setter.

LEADERS OF THE RAFT… POINTS: Maddy Underwood 11.0; KILLS: Maddy Underwood 9; BLOCKS: Erica Chapa/Chandler McKean 2; ACES: Erica Chapa/Maddy Underwood 2; DIGS: Ashlynne Armstrong 24.

THE LAST WORD… "I'm really pleased with how we competed this season. Unfortunately, that last set and a lot of the match was not an accurate representation of who we are as a program. So that's the part that's tough for all of us to swallow right now. We said before that match that this match does not define our season. I've had the honor to coach 16 tremendous young women and I stand by that even when we don't play our best." — CSUMB Head Coach Moe Melhart

THEY'VE GOT NEXT… Thursday's match put a wrap on the 2017 Otter Volleyball season.