Heading into its Nov. 2 match against
the UCSD women’s volleyball team had never suffered a loss against the
Lumberjacks. Although the Tritons floundered after building an early lead on
Nov. 2, they continued the trend, eventually prevailing with a 30-17, 30-20,
28-30, 23-30, 15-7 victory.
The win catapulted UCSD into second place in the California
Collegiate Athletic Association with an 11-5 record, behind only Cal State San
Bernardino, which is 15-1 in CCAA play.
Only two games remain before playoff competition begins, but
as head coach Tom Black has preached all season, the team is solely focusing on
its next game, ignoring talk of the playoffs.
“We know we have two tough games coming up,” Black said.
“Sometimes it’s hard not to look ahead, but I think the girls are very good at
staying focused on the next game. It’s hard to even predict what will happen in
playoffs right now, and we have our hands full this weekend.”
UCSD got off to a blistering start in game one with a 15-7
lead. The impressive display continued as the lead stretched to 13, and the
Tritons cruised to a game one win. Senior opposite Amber Ries, sophomore middle
blocker Sylvia Schmidt and junior outside hitter Rebecca Bailey led the attack.
Senior setter Kim Adams recorded two aces and Ries added a
pair of kills as UCSD jumped out to a 10-5 advantage to begin game two.
Humboldt State answered right back, pulling within two points and forcing Black
to use a timeout. After exchanging points, the Tritons again extended their
lead to five after kills from Schmidt and Bailey.
The Lumberjacks continued to pester UCSD, again pulling
within two. But the Tritons scored the next four points behind the serving of
senior libero Natalie Facchini and were never threatened again, capturing game
two.
Down but not out, Humboldt State battled for an early lead
in game three. Junior outside hitter Kimberly Carpenter put the Tritons ahead
7-5 with a 6-0 service run. UCSD used another 6-0 run led by junior middle blocker
Hannah Gary, who recorded three kills and a block during the run, which boosted
the Tritons to a commanding 15-8 lead.
Up 24-14 after another kill from Bailey, the Lumberjacks
made good on their name, as the team chopped away at the UCSD lead. They forced
the Tritons into a timeout with an 11-3 run and scored two more to tie the game
at 27-27. UCSD had no answer late in the game as Humboldt State completed the
improbable comeback to take game three.
The Lumberjacks continued to build momentum in game four,
scoring seven of the first eight points. After the disappointing game three,
the Tritons looked confused and couldn’t find the offensive sync that they had
relied on during the match’s first two games.
“We had a pretty good lead and we got comfortable,” Bailey
said. “We made a few errors and Humboldt State jumped on that. You have to give
them credit because they fought really hard and didn’t admit defeat.”
UCSD fought back, slowly chipping away at Humboldt State’s
lead, finally closing within two points after a pair of aces from Schmidt. But
with their newfound confidence, the Lumberjacks weren’t rattled and pulled away
to a comfortable 23-16 lead. The Tritons put together one final run behind the
aggressive serving of junior defensive specialist Michelle Torres and senior
outside hitter Casey Wilson. But the run came up short as Humboldt State scored
the final five points to force a decisive game five.
After a five-game battle in their last match, the Tritons
were at risk of exhaustion at the worst possible time. But they still seemed to
find their offensive rhythm, exploding to a 12-4 lead in game five. Ries and
Wilson closed out the match with a kill apiece, giving UCSD its third straight
victory.
Black was happy about his players’ stamina, which helped
them deal with both the mental and physical pressures that the squad faced
going into game five.
“We really had a letdown in game three and were trying to
find our composure in that fourth game,” Black said. “It showed a lot of
maturity to not go down with the ship and wipe the slate clean in that fifth
game. We go hard in practice and the weight room so we’re ready for the fifth
game.”
Despite the recent success in five-game matches, the team
wants to improve its finishing ability.
“We have been known as fifth-gamers these past couple of
years,” Bailey said. “We train hard all year so we’re conditioned for these
fifth games. We practice the high stress situations in practice and it pays
off. We take great pride in knowing that we’re not worn out and tired, and it’s
asking a lot of the other team. We take advantage of it.”
The Tritons will close out their regular season Nov. 9 and
Nov. 10 at home against Sonoma State and Cal State Monterey Bay, respectively.
