SEASIDE, Calif. – In the final match of the 2008 Otter Invitational, the Cal State University women's volleyball team put on a spectacular show, prevailing 25-22, 27-25, 25-11.  The Otters improve to 2-5 on the season.  With the loss, ENMU falls to 2-2.

Freshman #Rheann Fall# led the Otters with 15 kills and racked up a season high .429 hitting average.  Junior #Elizabeth Hanna# was near perfect with 10 kills on 19 attempts with one lone error (.474).  Freshman #Melanie Lashbrook# led all players with four blocks, and junior #Alisha Thomas# notched a match-high 16 digs. .

The first set was evenly matched with fourteen tied scores. The Otters pulled away on a kill from Hanna and an ace by Fall to give the Otters a 24-22 lead. Junior #Kerri Sudarsana# put the set away, crushing the ball on a cross-court shot from the right side.

The Zias came out strong in the second set, taking a quick 15-9 lead.  Down 24-21, CSUMB rallied back with four straight points on two ENMU errors and kills by Thomas and junior #Rayna Richardson#. A strong serve by Hanna forced a Zia hitting error to award the Otters a 27-25 second set win. Freshman libero #Dionna Lucas# contributed three of her four aces of the match in the close set.

The Otters pulled away swiftly in the third set on smart setting decisions by sophomore #Dana Grimm#. A block by Richardson and Hanna gave CSUMB its first ten-point lead at 15-5.  Hanna's tenth kills of the night gave CSUMB set point at 24-11, and the Otters converted on an attacking error to finish off the match with a 25-11 third-set victory. The Otters outhit ENMU .480 to -.154, and was lead by Fall's seven kills.

“I am most proud of how our team responded to the challenge of playing with a sense of urgency and the need for a kill mentality,” said head coach Jody Garry. “We open this weekend with the best team in the conference and this match was a great start of how we need to play to be successful in the CCAA.”

CSUMB will return to the court on Friday at the Kelp Bed, hosting No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino in the opening match of the CCAA season. First serve is at 7 p.m.

Match 3: WWU 3, WJU 0

Western Washington University easily took three sets to defeat William Jessup (25-11, 25-5, 25-12). This was the final match for both teams in the Otter Invitational. WWU finished up with a record of 4-0 and WJU went 0-4.

Senior Shanley Besett led the Vikings with 12 kills. Sophomore Megan Amudson who went six of seven on kills (.857). Senior Angie Alvord served up four aces to add to her .715 hitting percentage.

The duo of sophomores, Morgan Sauders and Rachelle Russell, led WJU with four kills apiece.

Match 2: CSUS 3, WJU 1

Day two of the Otter Invitational continued with a battle of the Warriors. Stanislaus quickly recovered to take the match three sets to one with scores (19-25, 25-16, 25-9, 25-10).

Stanislaus finishes the tournament 1-2 overall and William Jessup progressed to 0-3.

Sophomore Jen Gee and freshman Lianne Vicchio had 12 kills apiece and Megan Loghry had nine kills with a hitting percentage of .438.

CSU Stanislaus also served well accumulating 17 aces as a team, Vicchio and Loghry each having six. Defensively, sophomore Amanda Pielstick had 15 digs.

Sophomore Morgan Sounders who tallied seven kills led the Warriors of William Jessup. In the backcourt, junior Corrisa Jacomini nabbed 12 digs.

William Jessup returns back to the court at 4:30 p.m to play Western Washington.

Match 1: WWU 3, ENMU 0

Day two of the Otter Invitational began with a sweep by the Western Washington Vikings over Eastern New Mexico University (25-18, 25-10,25-19). WWU is currently undefeated in the tournament, and ENMU fell 2-1 in the tournament.

Senior Shanley Besett and sophomore Megan Amundson led the Vikings with 11 kills apiece. Senior Angie Alvord added eight kills and served up five aces. Libero Allsion Gotz racked up 31 digs.

The Zias of Eastern New Mexico were led by senior Nicole Venderploeg who notched six kills and junior Caitlin Murphy who had 21 digs.

Western Washington will play William Jessup University at 4:30 p.m.

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