SEASIDE, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey Bay volleyball gave a strong showing in its 2017 debut Friday, walking away with a hard–earned split on Day 1 of the Spring Hill Suites Otter Classic in The Kelp Bed. CSUMB swept Dixie State 25–21, 25–16, 25–18 in an afternoon match before closing the day with a tough 27–25, 25–21, 19–25, 25–17 setback versus a tough Northwest Nazarene squad.

The Otters had to overcome an early deficit in the second set versus Dixie State, but other led the Trailblazers comfortably through out the match. But they were forced to rally from behind in all four sets against NNU. CSUMB forged two set points in the first frame before falling 27–25 and managed to climb on top and stay there only in their third set victory.

Senior outside hitter Amber Tygart (Yucaipa HS) was the statistical star for CSUMB Friday, hitting a combined .447 (25–4–47) in the two matches. Junior setter Erica Chapa (San Benito HS/Gavilan College) passed 48 assists against NNU, the No. 5 mark in a 4–set match in Otter history.
 

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THE DIXIE STATE MATCH WAS OVER WHEN… a pair of Amber Tygart kills highlighted a 5–1 spurt that expanded the Otter lead to 18–10 in Set 3.

THE NORTHWEST NAZARENE MATCH WAS OVER WHEN… the Crusaders opened set 4 on a 10–3 run. CSUMB never pulled closer than four points for the balance of the match.

EVERYONE LENDS A HAND… While Erica Chapa etched her named in the Otter record books for assists in the match versus Northwest Nazarene, her teammate contributed 11 additional assists to give the Otters 59 for the match, good for No. 4 on the CSUMB list for a 4–set match.

LEADERS OF THE RAFT (vs. DIXIE STATE)… KILLS: Maddy Underwood 12. BLOCKS: Samantha Brennan, Chandler McKean 3. ACES: Alá Olson 2. DIGS: Ashlynne Armstrong 16.

LEADERS OF THE RAFT (vs. NORTHWEST NAZARENE)… KILLS: Amber Tygart 16. BLOCKS: Chandler McKean, Amber Tygart 6. ACES: Paige Burrell, Chandler McKean 1. DIGS: Erica Chapa 15

THE LAST WORD… "We played both of these teams early last year and I'm really impressed with the job we did preparing for them this year and I'm really pleased with how we played overall." – CSUMB Head Coach Moe Melhart

THEY'VE GOT NEXT… CSUMB concludes play at the Spring Hill Suites Otter Classic with Saturday matches versus Cal Poly Pomona (2 p.m.) and Metro State (7 p.m.).