Hitting it big

By Mark Reinhiller

Samantha Middleborn has known what it’s like to stand out in a crowd all of her life. Always the tallest girl in her class, it was easy to pick out the Rialto, Calif., native from her school’s class picture.

She describes herself as a “tomboy.’’ Most of her youth was spent outside and she developed a penchant for climbing trees, riding her bike and coming home “always dirty.’’

“I’ve got the scars to prove it,’’ she said with a laugh. “I couldn’t get enough out of being outside. But it wasn’t about playing sports. I just didn’t have any interest.’’ That no longer is the case, much to the pleasure of her Cal State San Bernardino volleyball coaches, teammates and fans and the chagrin of Coyote opponents. The 6-foot-1 senior is playing her final season at CSUSB with the distinction of being the absolute best in her sport and is leading the Coyotes to another record-setting season.

The standout

In 2010, Middleborn played what can only be described as a “dream season.’’ She led the NCAA Division II in hitting with a school-record .480 percentage en route to becoming the first consensus National Player of the Year in school history. She joined fellow Coyotes Kim Morohunfola (2003) and Brianna Harris (2004) as the American Volleyball Coaches Association Player of the Year, but became the first Coyote to earn the Daktronics national award, selected by the nation’s sports information directors.

The Coyotes cruised through the California Collegiate Athletic Association, going 28-3 overall and winning their fifth straight conference crown with a 21-1 record. They captured their record-setting third consecutive NCAA West Region title – all at CSUSB’s Coussoulis Arena – and recorded their fifth NCAA Elite Eight appearance in the past eight years.

In all, Middleborn has earned three All-American honors, two All-CCAA honors and ranks second on the career hitting percentage in school history (.399 – 695 kills, 170 errors, 1,317 total attacks) in her three-year career.

Not too bad for a young woman who didn’t participate in organized sports until her sophomore year at Rialto Carter High School. In fact, she gave up cheerleading to become a volleyball player. Cheerleading’s loss was volleyball’s gain. “A good friend of mine had some interest in trying out for volleyball and I thought it might be kind of fun to try it, too,’’ she said. “I really had no idea what would be involved or if I could be good at it.’’ She found enough success that season to make a way to play even more. That spring, she played club volleyball with Rancho Valley for Morohunfola as a 16-year old.

“That’s when I learned the most,’’ she said. “I had some success and started to think that maybe I could play college volleyball, although I kind of figured it meant going to a junior college and then on to a four-year school.’’

But a pair of all-conference honors her final two seasons at Carter gave her enough momentum to skip the junior-college route. Middleborn enrolled at CSUSB in the fall of 2008. The university’s head women’s volleyball coach, Kim Cherniss, now in her 21st season at the helm and owner of the Rancho Valley volleyball club, knew talent when she saw it.

“She had speed and she could jump,’’ Cherniss said. “To move and play that well at her size is pretty special.’’

And it’s that rare combination of speed and ability to jump that allowed her to have the 2010 dream season. “Absolutely it adds a lot of buzz to our program,’’ said Cherniss, who has coached 14 student-athletes to a combined 33 All-American honors – all since the 2000 season. “It gets people excited about our program. Samantha has worked awfully hard to make herself into one of the best in our sport. It’s something really cool because our fans have followed her career over the last three years. It gives them a little perspective on how others view the quality athletes that we have and that she is one of the best players in the country.’’

Set up

Timing is a critical facet in volleyball, and the relationship between a team’s setter and those who play on the front row often is the difference between a good team and a great team.

Middleborn is quick to praise her teammates, and in particular junior All-American setter Camille Smith. The two work in tandem. If the set isn’t just right, a kill won’t happen.

“The setter is the quarterback,’’ Middleborn said. “They make the decision on where the ball needs to be. It can’t be too high and it can’t be too low. The best feeling in the world is when Camille sets it just right. It’s pretty sick when you can throw down one.’’

Thanks to being 6-foot-1, Middleborn’s size and leaping ability serve their purpose well. “Sam works so hard,’’ Smith said. “It’s comfortable for me as a setter because of her size and vertical. It makes my life easier, because she’s so easy to find. She’s so tall and has a very strong presence on the court. You know where she is and you know that she’s going to hit it well.”

“When we block together, all I need to do is get into position. She takes care of most of the space and I just need to set the block. If she gets back to me, it’s unlikely that a hitter is going to get around us.’’

A Coyote forever

An anthropology major, Middleborn grew up inside a 10-minute drive of CSUSB. She admits now that the thought of attending school away from home was appealing before she graduated from Carter HS. But the decision to attend CSUSB and play volleyball for the Coyotes was probably the best decision she could have ever made.

“That I can do this and have my family and friends watch me play is the best,’’ she said. “I can do my laundry at home and if I need to go, I can always go home and get a couple of bucks. My little niece can wear her No. 8 jersey” – Samantha’s player number – “and come watch me play. It’s all good.

“And to live near home and play for a program that is among the nation’s best is incredibly gratifying. I consider myself incredibly blessed. I totally love being here.’’

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