IRVINE, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos volleyball team bounced back from being swept by Point Loma (21-25, 23-25, 20-25) with a come-from-behind victory over host Concordia University Irvine (21-25, 25-19, 25-23, 26-24) on Saturday in the SoCal Freeway Challenge.
MATCH 1 – POINT LOMA 3 – CSUSM 0 (21-25, 23-25, 20-25)
TOP PERFORMERS
Jessica Thomas – 11 kills | .455 clip
Kelsy Rasmussen – six kills | 10 digs
Grecia Cordero-Barr – 13 digs | one ace
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cougars trailed the entire first set and found themselves down 6-12 before closing the gap at 15-17 on a Stephanie Adams’ kill.
CSUSM continued to fight but couldn’t get closer than two points before PLNU clinched the opening set at 25-21.
The Cougars made seven hitting errors and had four missed errors in the first set.
CSUSM came out of the gate on fire in the second set, taking a 12-8 lead on a Adams kill.
The Cougars continued to extend their lead, raising it to 19-12 on a kill by Rasmussen.
The Sea Lions came roaring back, going on a 13-4 run to take the set away from CSUSM at 25-23.
The third set had four ties and three lead changes all before the 7-7 mark when the Sea Lions got hot by scoring six unanswered points.
The Cougars were never able to close the gap as PLNU cruised to a 25-20 victory.
MATCH 2 – CSUSM 3 – CUI 1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-23, 26-24)
TOP PERFORMERS
Stephanie Adams – 18 kills | .432 clip | 10 digs
Kiora Ridgeway – 11 kills | .333 clip
Kassy Doering – 11 kills | four blocks
Grecia Cordero-Barr – 22 digs | one ace
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the opening set, CSUSM hit just .132 with 11 kills and six hitting errors while the Eagles accumulated four blocks.
CUI took a quick lead in the first frame, forcing CSUSM to play catch-up the entire set.
The Cougars cut the Eagles’ lead to 23-21 on a solo block by Doering.
A service ace by CUI’s Cassidy Gelacio gave the Eagles the win at 25-21.
CSUSM turned on the jets in the second set, tallying a .348 clip and four service aces.
At 9-9, the Cougars went on an 8-2 run that was capped by a Doering service ace.
CUI got within one (19-18) on a kill by Jalyssa Sanchez, but CSUSM responded with another short run to even the match at 1-1 with a 25-19 win.
The third set featured 12 tie scores, yet CSUSM never trailed despite its largest lead of three points only occurring four times (6-3, 8-5, 21-18 and 22-19).
Adams tallied seven kills on 11 attempts with no errors for a .636 clip in the set.
CSUSM recorded the 25-23 win in set three despite hitting only .265 while CUI turned in a .359.
The fourth set was very similar to the previous one with neither team taking more than a three-point lead.
CSUSM only made two errors in the final frame, tallying 19 kills on 50 attempts for a .340 clip while holding the Eagles to a .160 attack percentage.
THOUGHTS FROM COACH LEONARD
“The final match was a total battle from start to finish. I am really excited to see our gritty determination and competitive drive tested, and the team responded. This was a great regional win, but more importantly, it was a confidence builder as we head into CCAA play!”
QUICK HITS
The Cougars went 2-2 in the SoCal Freeway Challenge and enter conference play next week with a 3-3 overall record.
PLNU improved to 4-4 on the season while CUI dropped to 5-2 overall.
Adams collected her third double-double with a career-high 18 kills in addition to her 10 digs.
This is CSUSM’s second consecutive win over CUI after recording a sweep against the Eagles in 2018.
The Cougars are now 2-0 against CUI in the all-time series since both teams made the move to NCAA Division II. During the NAIA era, the Eagles held a dominating 9-0 record against CSUSM.
UP NEXT
The Cougars play their home and CCAA conference opener on Thursday, Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. when they host Cal State Monterey Bay at The Sports Center.
