Rachel Cookus led the Otter defense once again with nine digs vs. Cal State San Bernardino Saturday night.
BOX SCORE SEASIDE, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey Bay volleyball would be hard pressed to play better in a match and not come away with a W than it did against an in–form Cal State San Bernardino squad Saturday night in The Kelp Bed. The No. 8 ranked Coyotes were clinical in their execution in the first two sets and used that fast start to earn a 25–10, 25–19, 25–21 win.
The Otters played so well that they hit .308 in the second set and still lost. That's because San Bernardino made just one error in its first 71 swings, siding out at an incredible 83 percent through the first two sets. CSUMB's season–high attack percentage of .232 wasn't enough to stem that tide.
San Bernardino rolled to a win in the first set, but the Otters put up a fight from that point forward. CSUMB pulled to within 18–15 on a
Julia Ashen| CAL ST. SAN BERN. 3, CAL ST. MONTEREY BAY 0 |
| OTTERS | 10 | 19 | 21 | | | 0–6 (0–2) |
| No. 8 COYOTES | 25 | 25 | 25 | | | 5–1 (2–0) |
CSUMB Leaders: Julia Ashen (11 kills,6 digs); Jessica
Malcolm (9 kills, 2 blocks); Leana Moleta (25 assists, 9 digs) |
San Bernardino Leaders: Alexandra Torline (15 kills); Tori May (11 kills, .579 attack pct.); Hannah Liserra (42 assists).
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kill late in the second set. Though they would pull no closer, they did usurp some momentum that helped turn the tables to start the third set.
An Ashen kill, a
Rachel Cookus (Thousand Oaks HS) ace and a
Jessica Malcolm (Lodi HS) block sparked a 9–2 Otter run to open Set 3. The Coyotes righted the ship and rallied to tie the set at 11–11. That began a sideout war that the Otters eventually ended with kills by Malcolm and
Victoria Clardy (Westminster/Marina HS) to forge an 19–16 edge.
That's where things turned south for CSUMB, however, as Alexandra Torline served a 6–point run that sealed the result for the Coyotes.
Ashen led the Otter offense for the second consecutive night, finishing with 11 kills. Junior setter
Leana Moleta (Palmdale/Paraclete HS) missed setting a career high by one assist, finishing the night with 25. Moleta and Cookus shared the team lead with nine digs apiece.
Torline led all attackers with 15 kills for San Bernardino. Tori May added 11 kills on 19 swings with no errors.
Its brief 2–match homestand now concluded, CSUMB hits the road for the next fortnight, beginning with a CCAA match at Cal State Stanislaus on Sept. 19. The Otters return home to host Cal State East Bay Oct. 1 in The Kelp Bed.
GO OTTERS!
