September 18, 2009
Box Score
SEASIDE, Calif. – In a battle which consisted of 465 kills and 262 digs, the loud Otter Sports Center crowd got everything they could want, as the five-set match saw some unbelievable digs and great jump serves, however, the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters fell to the Humboldt State Lumberjacks, 3-2 (19-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-22, 15-13).
Sophomore #Rheann Fall# nabbed her fourth 20-plus match with 24 kills on top of a career-high 36 digs. Four others reached career-highs in the dig column, including #Dionna Lucas# (32) and #Katie Bos# (21). Sena and #Dana Grimm# dished out 26 and 25 assists respectively.
The Otters have lost three consecutive five-set matches at home, as they previously fell to Chico State on Saturday, Sept. 12, and San Francisco State on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
The Otters came out strong in the opening set, racking up five aces and 12 kills. The first set had a match-high five lead changes, with the neither team taking a larger lead than three points until the CSUMB turned on the jets at the end. Back-to-back kills by Fall clinched the Otter victory at 25-19.
CSUMB jumped out to a 7-1 lead two kills by #Alisha Thomas# and two Fall aces. The Otters would maintain the lead to the final set point with Fall and Thomas leading the charge with six and five kills respectively.
The Lumberjacks were able to re-group during the ten minute break between sets, as the visitors took a 9-5 lead in the third set. The Otters rallied back to tie it twice before taking a 16-15 lead on a Thomas kill. HSU regained the lead and cruised to a 25-19 third-set victory.
Senior #Kerri Sudarsana#'s kill gave the Otters a 1-0 lead to begin the fourth set. After three tied scores, the Lumberjacks rattled off six consecutive points to take a 10-5 advantage. CSUMB would come back and tie it at 13-13 capped by Sena's ace. HSU would go another small run before the Otters evened it at 16-16 on another ace by Fall. A 4-1 run gave the Lumberjacks a cushion and prevented the Otters from getting any closer than two points.
The final set had HSU taking a quick 4-1 lead before back-to-back kills by #Tiffaney Riggs# tied the set at 5-5. #Kami Ward# came back with a kill after an attacking error to even it out at 6-6. The Lumberjacks then went on a 6-1 run, forcing CSUMB to use both timeouts. Two kills by Sudarsana got the Otters back in the game at 12-10. HSU's Danielle Wells put down a kill and #Elizabeth Hanna# answered with a kill from the middle to make it 13-11 HSU. Fall's fourth ace of the night and a Sudarsana kill tied the game at 13-13, forcing a HSU timeout. An Otter hitting error followed by a kill by Joliann Arzadon clinched the match victory for the Lumberjacks.
The Otters are back at the Kelp Bed on Saturday, Sept. 19 to host No. 13 Sonoma State. First serve is 7 p.m.
