Box Score

SEASIDE, Calif. – Determined to defend their home court, the Cal State Monterey Bay women's volleyball team pulled off a four-set upset over No. 16 UC San Diego on Friday at the Kelp Bed. The final scores were 25-19, 31-29, 21-25, 25-21.

The Otters were in control of almost the entire match. Senior outside hitter Rheann Fall (Elk Grove/St. Francis HS) recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 23 kills and 19 digs.  Senior middle blocker Melanie Lashbrook (Truckee/Tahoe Truckee HS) racked up 14 kills and four blocks.  Senior libero Dionna Lucas (Redlands, CA/Arrowhead Christian Academy) finished with 26 digs. 

“Our serve and pass was stellar tonight,” said Head Coach Jody Garry. “Dionna Lucas was on and made it happen for us tonight. Our serving was very strong and kept them (UCSD) out of system.”

Both teams came out to play in the opening set, with nine tied scores, until the 14-14 mark.  A kill by Fall and two UCSD attack errors forced a timeout by the Tritons.  An 8-4 run gave the Otters a 25-19 win.  CSUMB had a balanced attack with Fall, Lashbrook and Ashen each registering three kills. 

Three consecutive kills by Fall and back-to-back kills by Ashen put the Otters up 8-4 in the second set.  CSUMB maintained the lead until a 5-1 Triton run knotted the set at 19.  The Otters held off two set-points while attempting three of their own, Falls back-row attacked dropped on the back line to clinch it at 31-29.  Fall nabbed eight kills and Lucas added nine digs in the set.

UCSD avoided a sweep by winning the third set, 25-21.  The Otters kept the set within reach throughout by rallying back after each UCSD run.  Fall once again led the Otters with six kills. 

The fourth and final set proved to be a battle of wills, with 15 tied scores and six lead changes.  The Otters hit a match-high .390 with 19 kills on 41 attempts and only three errors while holding the Tritons to a .154 attack percentage. Lashbrook stepped up with a set-high eight kills and a .583 clip while Fall was error free with six kills on ten attempts.

“In the third set, UCSD began to block us and then we were able to adjust,” Garry said. “That was really good to see.”

UCSD's Hillary Williamson had a team-high 12 kills and Katie Condon added 10 kills.   Lauren Demos recorded a match-high eight blocks.

The Otters return to the Kelp Bed on Saturday, Oct. 8, hosting No. 3 Cal State San Bernardino at 7 p.m.

Check out freshman Julia Ashen's latest blog about tonight's match --> click here