Volleyball drops one against CSU Dominguez Hills, sweeps CSU Los Angeles to enter the CCAA tourney in third position.
After clinching a California Collegiate Athletic Association tournament berth this past week, UCSD looked to improve on its eight-game winning streak against its last two opponents of the regular season. The Tritons saw their streak broken at Cal State Dominguez Hills in five hard-fought sets but rebounded the night after in a clean sweep of Cal State Los Angeles. UCSD, now 18–10 overall and 14–6 in the CCAA, will play Cal State Los Angeles again on Thursday in the opening round of the CCAA tournament that it is hosting.
Game One
On Friday, Cal State Dominguez Hills broke the UCSD women’s volleyball team’s eight-game winning streak in an exhausting five-set match at the Torodome. The scores of the game were 25–16, 18–25, 21–25, 25–19 and 17–15.
The Tritons’ record fell to 17–10 overall and 13–6 in the CCAA. It was their first loss since Oct. 10. This defeat sealed UCSD’s fate to be the third seed at this week’s CCAA tournament in La Jolla.
Cal State Dominguez Hills improved to 10–17 and 8–11 as it notched its third-straight victory.
UCSD hit just .161 (61–29–199) in the game, its lowest attack percentage since its last loss on Oct. 10 to San Francisco State. Cal State Dominguez Hills hit .207 (70–25–217) and out-blocked the Tritons 13–6. The Toros committed 12 service errors but maintained a 6–1 advantage in service aces.
Four Tritons had at least 10 kills: senior outside hitter Danielle Dahle (14), junior outside hitter Meagan Wright (11), senior opposite Kameron Cooper (10) and sophomore outside blocker Alyssa McNeely (10). Sophomore libero Amanda Colla recorded a career and match high 30 digs, and senior setter Heidi Sierks added 51 assists.
For the Toros, sophomore outside hitter Bridget Heins led all players with 18 kills. Sophomore middle blocker Morelia Castro had eight blocks in addition to two solos.
UCSD defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills at home back on Sept. 26. The Tritons’ impressive eight-match win streak was their longest since the 2013 season.
Game Two
The UCSD women’s volleyball team ended its regular season with a fantastic win, sweeping Cal State Los Angeles in three sets on the road. The scores from the Eagles Nest Arena in Los Angeles were 25–14, 25–13 and 25–23. UCSD improved its record to 18–10 overall and 14–6 in the CCAA. UCSD out-blocked Cal State Los Angeles 7–0 and held its opponent to a .055 (24–18–110) hitting percentage. The Tritons hit .210 (41–15–124) and sided-out at 60 percent, while the Golden Eagles sided-out at 40 percent.
“We played a good match tonight; the team generated a lot of quality swings transitioning from defense to offense,” UCSD Head Coach Ricci Luyties told the UCSD Athletics Department. “With their attacking, our middles really made our offense run smoothly the entire match.”
Dahle led all players with 12.0 points on nine kills and four blocks, two solo, while adding 12 digs. Wright, also an outside hitter, pitched in 11.0 points. She also had a match-high 10 kills in addition to seven digs.
Sierks was the only player with a double-double, finishing with 28 assists and 10 digs. Colla had a match-best 19 digs, while opposite Cooper and middle Alyssa McNeely each had 8.0 points. Sophomore middle blocker Rebecca Seaberry hit .300 (5–2–10) in the middle.
Cal State Los Angeles got seven kills and 8.0 points from senior outside hitter Iona Lofrano and 11 digs from junior libero Chloe Clancy.
The Tritons swept the Golden Eagles once before back on Sept. 25 at home.
UCSD is hosting the first ever CCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament from Nov. 19 to Nov. 21 at RIMAC Arena. The Tritons ended the season third in the CCAA regular season standings and come into next week’s inaugural tournament as the No. 3 seed. They will play sixth-seeded Cal State Los Angeles again in a quarterfinal match on Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m.