The Otters showed tremendous growth on their most recent roadtrip, finishing with a 3-2 record.
BOX SCORE
LA JOLLA, Calif. -- The concept of the good loss may widely be regarded as a myth among those in the know, but the Cal State Monterey Bay volleyball team took another step forward in defeat Saturday night, pushing No. 11 UC San Diego to the brink before falling 21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 15-9 at RIMAC Arena.
CSUMB (11-6, 5-4 CCAA) just missed its biggest win since defeating then No. 11 UCSD in Seaside in 2010. UCSD improved to 15-2 and 8-2 with the win.
While the win would have been big, the young Otter squad continues to learn how to compete at a high level, especially on the road where it struggled in 2012. They took two sets at UCSD for the first time in school history one night after taking at set at No. 16 Cal State San Bernardino for just the second time ever.
Again, good losses may be a myth, but the growth the Otters showed this weekend could be a sign of big things to come as the team returns home to host San Francisco State and No. 13 Sonoma State next weekend.
Saturday's match turned into the Jessica and Julia show for CSUMB. Sophomore outside hitter
Jessica Malcolm (Lodi HS) posted her second career 25-kill match to pace the Otters while junior
Julia Ashen (North Salinas HS) added 22 kills and 20 digs to help the Otters forge the 2-1 lead.
Sophomore setter
Kelsey Johnston (Ripon HS) added a career-high 26 digs and 52 assists, the No. 10 mark on the CSUMB all-time list. Johnson's career night in digs led a 108-dig effort by the Otters, the No. 4 mark on the CSUMB all-time team record list.
The Otters eased out to a 19-11 lead and never trailed in winning the first set. A Malcolm block gave the Otters a 21-20 lead late in Set 2 before UCSD rattled off five consecutive points to prevent the Otters from going up 2-0.
Set 3 was the Otters turn to rally late as three consecutive Ashen kills turned a 23-22 deficit into a 25-23 CSUMB win to put the Otters on the cusp of the upset. They drew even closer to the win by leading for much of the fourth set before the Tritons overcame a 16-12 deficit to force the deciding set.
Kills by Ashen and
Victoria Clardy (Westminster/Marina HS) put the Otters up 2-0 to open the fifth, but UCSD scored 10 of the next 11 points before essentially trading sideouts down the stretch to secure the win.
CSUMB completes its 5-game roadtrip with a 3-2 mark. The Otters return home to host SFSU Friday at 7 p.m.
GO OTTERS!
