BOX SCORE

SEASIDE, Calif. — Youth was served — and attacked and dug and passed and blocked — Tuesday night in The Kelp Bed as the young Cal State Monterey Bay volleyball team rolled to its third consecutive win and its second consecutive sweep by dispatching Cal State East Bay 25-21, 25-14, 25-13.

CSUMB improved to 9-6 overall and 3-4 in CCAA action with the win. East Bay dips to 6-8 and 1-6.
Sophomore Julia Ashen and freshman Jessica Malcolm continued to dominate on the outside. Ashen finished with a 17-kill, 11-dig double-double. It marked Ashen's 12th consecutive match in double figure kills and the fifth consecutive double-double.


Malcolm, meanwhile, hit .500 (12-0-24) while reaching double figure kills for the second consecutive match.

But Malcolm and Ashen were far from the only Otter youngsters to shine Tuesday night. Freshman middle blocker Janai Johnson recorded nine kills, two blocks and a .500 attack percentage. Freshman libero Rachel Cookus tied junior outside hitter Lacee Ventura for match-high honors with 15 digs. Meanwhile, sophomore setter Kelsey Johnston just missed her sixth double-double of the season, finishing with 40 assists and nine digs. As consolation, her 40 assists put her at No. 6 in the CSUMB record book for assists in a three set match.

With Cal State East Bay coming off a Saturday sweep of Humboldt State in which it held the Lumberjacks to just two points in the final set, the Otters figured to have their hands full Tuesday evening. But an Ashen kill sparked a 9–2 run that put the Otters up 17-10 in the first set. CSUMB then parried a late East Bay run that brought the Pioneers to within 22-20 to take the set.

Service aces by Rachel Freeno and Molly Kennedy sparked an 8–2 run to open a second set controlled by the Otters. East Bay actually led 7-6 early in the third set before CSUMB caught fire one last time. This time, consecutive kills by Malcolm fanned the flames of a 17-1 conflagration that put the match out of reach.

“Tonight was a great confidence builder with a really big weekend ahead of us,” said CSUMB Head Coach Jody Garry. “I'm really excited for our Friday match-up with (nationally-ranked) Chico State. It's seems like we always go five with them here. It's always been a war and I'm excited to see what we've got.”

CSUMB (9-6, 3-4 CCAA) will host Chico State Friday night and Cal State Stanislaus Saturday night. First serve for both matches is scheduled for 7 p.m. in The Kelp Bed.