After a week of rest, the No. 13 UCSD women’s volleyball team stretched its winning streak to five with victories over Sonoma State and Humboldt State in the first two games of its four-game homestand.
With the wins, the Tritons improved to 13-2 overall with an 8-2 California Collegiate Athletic Association record.
“We seem like we had our confidence back coming into this weekend,” head coach Tom Black said. “Our top players really started taking hard swings at the ball and that was good to see.”
In the opener of the four-game homestand on Sept. 29, UCSD handled Sonoma State easily, 30-25, 30-22, 30-23.
Senior middle blocker Brianna Koche opened game one with a kill to take the early advantage. The Tritons looked rusty after their week off as they fell behind the Seawolves 17-16.
Coming out of a Triton timeout, sophomore outside hitter Rebecca Bailey and freshman middle blocker Sylvia Schmidt teamed up to get a big block and tied the game up at 17.
Sonoma State and UCSD exchanged points before the Tritons were able to break it open. The team took its first three-point lead of the match with kills by senior outside hitter Nicole Courtney and Bailey. Junior opposite Amber Ries rang up consecutive kills, giving the Tritons a 29-24 lead, finally ending the game 30-25.
The Tritons had difficulties closing out the match, missing the game-point serve — one of 14 service errors in the match.
“We’ve had some trouble with our serving and that’s where you score your points,” Bailey said. “We’ve been getting the sideouts but can’t capitalize.”
In game two, freshman setter Elaine Chen served an ace to get the Tritons within one at 5-4. Sonoma State held onto the lead 11-10 before UCSD used back-to-back kills by Courtney to take a solid 20-15 advantage. The team then cruised to a 30-22 win.
The Tritons looked back to old form in game three, taking a quick 7-3 lead. Coming out of a Seawolf timeout, the ladies went on a 7-3 scoring run using kills by Bailey, Schmidt and Koche to open up a 19-10 advantage.
Gary had the game-ending kill, giving UCSD a score of 30-23 and the match in game three.
The duo of captains, Courtney and Koche, recorded a double-double each. Courtney fired 14 kills and 10 digs while Koche added 10 kills and 12 digs to help lead the Tritons.
“Nicole and Brianna really complement one another’s strength,” Black said. “They are the leaders on the court and the backbone to this team.”
Humboldt State proved no contest for the ladies as they disposed of the Lumberjacks 30-21, 30-18, 30-23 on Sept. 30.
In game one, the ladies jumped out to a 9-3 start. Senior setter Kristin Halvorsen served two aces, giving the Tritons an 11-3 advantage. Following the second timeout called by Humboldt State, UCSD recorded two blocks to take a commanding 25-14 lead.
Schmidt’s kill ended the game and the ladies claimed the opening game 30-21.
The Tritons didn’t let up in game two, taking an 11-2 lead before the Lumberjacks spent their first timeout.
UCSD then went on a 5-0 run to stretch the margin to 22-10 on a Koche kill before taking the game 30-18 on a Humboldt State hitting error.
The ladies struggled to finish game three despite opening a 9-4 lead on a block by Halvorsen and sophomore middle blocker Hannah Gary.
The Lumberjacks fought back and got the deficit to two at 10-8 and 11-9 before Courtney scored back-to-back aces, pushing the Tritons’ advantage to five points at a score of 14-9.
Bailey explained the reason behind the Tritons’ slow start in the third game.
“One of the hardest things in volleyball is trying to win a third straight game,” Bailey said. “The team on the other side knows that it’s win or go home.”
UCSD extended its lead to eight before Humboldt State battled back again to 26-22. Bailey tallied the Tritons’ last two points to give the ladies the 30-23 victory.
Bailey had an outstanding night, recording a team high of 16 kills. Koche added 11 kills, five digs and three blocks, while junior libero Natalie Facchini dug up an equally impressive 15 balls.
“I’ve been in a slump where I’ve been really cautious with the ball,” Bailey said. “I met with the coaches and they told me to have confidence and play how I know how to play. We had great passing and awesome setting, so it was an all-around effort.”
The Tritons will attempt to continue their winning streak Oct. 6 against Cal State Bakersfield in RIMAC Arena. The match starts at 7 p.m.
