The women’s volleyball team added to its already impressive record in California Collegiate Athletic Association matches by taking out Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus in consecutive road wins on Sept. 23 and Sept. 24, respectively.
The No. 11 Tritons (12-2 overall, 4-1 CCAA) beat the Warriors (2-7 overall, 1-4 CCAA) on Sept. 24 in four games, 30-23, 30-20, 28-30, 30-21. Junior Nicole Courtney had 17 kills and five aces and led the Tritons to the much-needed victory. One of Courtney’s 17 kills ended the first game for the Tritons and gave them a small lead after the Warriors kept it close throughout most of the opening set.
In the second game, the Warriors jumped out to an early 3-1 lead before the Tritons took advantage of three kills from freshman Rebecca Bailey and three errors by the Warriors to score six straight points for a 7-3 advantage. The Tritons never looked back, extending their lead to 19-7 before Courtney ended the game with a kill, giving the Tritons a 30-20 win in the game and a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Warriors managed to take the third game 28-30 after the Tritons fought to keep it close, but let the game slip away, despite taking a 27-24 lead late in the game. The Tritons were not fazed by the Warriors’ attempted comeback, as they took a quick 12-5 lead in the final game on an ace from Bailey.
The Warriors managed to fight back within four points, 20-16, but UCSD, led by another three kills from Courtney, pulled away for the 30-21 win in game four and a 3-1 victory in the match.
The win came less than a day after the Tritons earned their third CCAA win over Chico State. The Tritons were tough on the Wildcats, who stole the first game 17-30, before the Tritons took over and came away with the next three games, 30-21, 30-26, 30-22, and the victory. Once again, Courtney led the Tritons with 20 kills and 13 digs while junior Kristin Halvorsen added 35 assists.
“After we lost the first game, we realized that we needed to step up and really show them who the Tritons are,” sophomore Amber Ries said. So we increased our energy and hustle and we came out and won the next three.”
The Tritons, now riding a four-game winning streak, moved up in the CCAA standings after their last two wins.
“We went into the games pretty confident and we knew how we had to play to get the job done,” Ries said.
Now the Tritons have 13 more league matches coming up to close out the regular season. The next two games will bring the Tritons home to face Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal Poly Pomona on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, respectively.
“Our team is looking very good, seeing how many starters from last year we lost and how many players this year haven’t had a whole lot of time playing college volleyball,” Ries said. “The rest of the season should go well if we play our best. We have a couple of really strong opponents still to play, but I’m hopeful that with a little energy, confidence and fan support, it’s still going to be a great season.”
