But in the second round, the No. 15 Tritons had a disappointing showing against No. 23 Sonoma State, dropping to the Seawolves in four sets.
Advancing to the third round, Sonoma State went on to lose to Cal State San Bernardino, who remains undefeated (29-0) going in to NCAA nationals. The Tritons ended their season with a record of 22-6.
Going against Grand Canyon on Thursday, Nov. 17, the Tritons were in good form. In the first game, the Tritons fell behind the Antelopes, who took the 9-8 lead.
Senior Hillary Williamson hit a couple of kills to tie the game back up. The Tritons rallied from there to win the set 25-20. The second game brought more of the same as UCSD stayed close in the first part of the game to pull away for a 25-19 win.
In the third set, Grand Canyon got out to a good lead, forcing the Tritons to come from behind. But strong play from veterans Williamson and Katie Condon, who recorded 18 kills collectively, as well as senior middle blocker Julia Freidenberg, gave the Tritons the lead. UCSD held the advantage to take the 25-21 victory.
Over the course of the 2011 regular season, UCSD has played Sonoma State twice. In their first meeting, the Tritons lost 3-1 near the start of their season at Sonoma, while winning in their second match-up again, with a score of 3-1.
Despite ending the regular season on a high note, the Triton’s CCAA record placed them behind the Seawolves, although they were still ranked higher nationally. Friday’s game was a highly anticipated match-up between conference rivals, and the Seawolves were simply on their game.
Coming into the match with a chip on their shoulder from the recent loss against the Tritons, the Seawolves took the first games with ease, blowing past the Tritons to a 20-6 lead. Sonoma State was relentless in the second game, going 25-15 behind senior Keala Peterson, who finished the game with an amazing 22 kills.
The Tritons woke up in the third set and took advantage of a lull in the Seawolf attack, surging to a 17-11 lead behind good blocks from Freidenberg. The Tritons moved on to take the game 25-16 following defensive contributions from seniors Sara McCutchan, Rachelle Kinney and Williamson.
The fourth game was tight on both sides of the net for the first few possessions until UCSD tied the game at 14 points apiece, after which the Tritons would trail for the remainder of the game. The Seawolves kept pushing, never letting up, until they had killed their way to game set match victory 25-20, 3-1.
Looking back on a great season, the entire women’s volleyball team played an integral role. Freshmen stepped up, seniors led and everyone in between made the team one of the best in recent program history.
Looking forward, the team will lose its big guns in Daktroniks All-American Hillary Williamson and CCAA First Team selection Roxanne Brunsting, along with senior standouts Condon and Freidenberg.
But freshmen Lauren Demos and Kinney look like they may be able to fill in the gaps. Freshman Amber Hawthorne, already an integral part of the team, looks like she could be stepping into the libero position left vacant by graduating senior Janessa Werhane.
Readers can contact Nick Howe at [email protected]
