Hitting it Big

Spring/Summer 2005

At times she seemed unstoppable, rocketing kill after kill. By season’s end she’d mounted big numbers — big enough to send Cal State San Bernardino outside hitter Brie Harris to the AVCA national convention in Long Beach last December. There, Misty May, two-time AVCA Division I player of the year and 2004 Olympic champion in two-player beach volleyball, handed Harris her American Volleyball Coaches Association/NCAA Division II women’s Player of the Year award.

The 6-foot senior from Victorville (Silverado High School) set an NCAA Division II tournament record with an incredible 45 kills to lead the Coyotes to a come-from-behind, nail-biting, roller-coaster-of-a-match 3-2 victory over favored UC San Diego in the Pacific Regional title match. She then earned all-tournament honors at the NCAA championship tournament in Miami Shores, Fla., even though the Coyotes were eliminated in the quarterfinals, 3-1, by Nebraska-Kearney. Harris was an All-CCAA first team selection as well as AVCA All-Pacific Region and AVCA All-America first team and Daktronics All-Pacific Region.

Her 545 kills for the season is No. 2 on the university’s all-time single-season list. She also had 26 service aces, 289 digs, a team-high 20 solo blocks and 75 total blocks.

CSUSB is only the second university to have players earn back-to-back AVCA player of the year honors in NCAA Division II since the inception of the award. Kim Morohunfola was the national player of the year in 2003. Harris also has been nominated for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year in Division II by Collegiate Women Sports Awards. She will be considered along with national players of the year in other Division II women's sports for the annual honor to be presented in June. In a January issue of Sports Illustrated, the All-American was one of the featured “Faces in the Crowd.”

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