BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2

SAN DIEGO -- In terms of level of play, Friday's opening day was a promising one for the Cal State Monterey Bay volleyball team. But neither result went CSUMB's way as the Otters fell to No. 34 Fresno Pacific 25-22, 22-25, 25-23, 25-21 and No. 26 Point Loma 26-24, 25-22, 25-16 Point Loma's Seaside Invitational.

"We played very well," said CSUMB Head Coach Jody Garry (@JodyGarry). "I was so impressed with our on court talk, our ability to adjust and our passing. We have do much good to take from today's matches. The losses were the only bad parts."

CSUMB got a solid opening day from junior outside hitter Jessica Malcolm (Lodi HS), whop was the top attacker in both matches with 23 kills versus Fresno Pacific and 12 against Point Loma. CSUMB also got 11 kills against FPU from sophomore middle Janai Johnson (Sacramento/Bradshaw Christian) in her first match back after redshirting in 2013. Johnson finished the day with 15 kills and nine total blocks.

The opener could have gone either way, with the teams playing through 28 ties and 14 lead changes. The match turned late in the third set when the Sunbirds rallied from a 23-19 deficit to win 25-23. The Otters tried to return the favor in the fourth set but could only close to 25-21 after trailing 23-17.

The Point Loma match started just as tightly as the as the Sea Lions held on by their fingernails to win Set 1 before scoring the final three points to break a 22-22 tie in Set 2. With CSUMB's first serve of the day nearly 12 hours in the review mirror, CSUMB ran out of steam in Set 3 and Point Loma eased away for the win.

The Otters will conclude play at the Seaside Invitational with two matches Saturday. They face No. 32 Metro State at 11:15 a.m. before taking on Azusa Pacific, a 26-win team in 2013, at 5:30 p.m. to close tournament play.


,