MOE MELHART POSTGAME INTERVIEW
SEASIDE, Calif. — Senior nights can bring out the best in teams that can overcome the emotions surrounding them. Saturday night in The Kelp Bed, the Cal State Monterey Bay volleyball team fed off the energy of its final home match of 2017 by starting and finishing strong in a 25–18, 17–25, 25–13, 25–17 win over Stanislaus State.
Seniors
Amber Tygart (Yucaipa HS) and
Maddy Underwood (Spokane, Wash./Mead HS) led the offense with 17 and 12 kills respectively. CSUMB's third senior, defensive specialist
Paige Burrell (Ripon HS), inched closer to the Otter career Top 10 for service aces by adding two Saturday night.
CSUMB raced to a 15–6 lead and never looked back as the energy from the pregame ceremonies carried it to a 25–18 win. As if the adrenaline rush wore off, however, a lethargic effort in the second set allowed Stanislaus to even the match.
But with the intermission came CSUMB's second wind, and the Otters used that to cap the set with a 14–4 flourish for the easy win. With the match now in control, the Otters hit .432 in an impressive final set to secure the win.
THE MATCH WAS OVER WHEN… a
Samantha Brennan kill capped a 12–4 run to open the fourth set. The Warriors never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.
TYGART THE TIGER… Amber Tygart recorded 15–plus kills in a match for the sixth time this season with 17 in Saturday's win. The 17 kills were one off her career high of 18 set against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Oct. 20.
THE 700 CLUB… Maddy Underwood's 12 kills Saturday night move her to within seven kills of 700 for her career. She is looking to become just the seventh player in CSUMB history to reach 700 career kills.
DIG THIS… Ashlynne Armstrong collected 25 digs Saturday night to pass Lacee Ventura (945 from 2010–13) for No. 6 on the CSUMB career list with 958.
LENDING A HAND… With 39 assists Saturday night,
Erica Chapa (San Benito HS/Gavilan College) became just the third player in Otter history to surpass 900 assists in a single season (932). Her average of 10.13 assists per set in No. 2 on the Otter single–season list.
LEADERS OF THE PACK… POINTS:
Amber Tygart 18.0; KILLS:
Amber Tygart 17; BLOCKS:
Chandler McKean/
Amber Tygart 2; ACES:
Maddy Underwood 3; DIGS:
Ashlynne Armstrong 25.
THE LAST WORD… "It was so great to end the way we did last night with a great 3–set win over Chico and tonight against a scrappy Stanislaus team. It wasn't perfect, but it was a great way to start the postseason with two big wins at home." —
CSUMB Head Coach Moe Melhart
THEY'VE GOT NEXT… The Otters head to the post season for the first time at the NCAA level when they face Cal State San Bernardino in the opening round of the CCAA Championship Tournament Thursday (Nov. 16) at San Francisco State. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
GO OTTERS!
