SAN FRANCISCO — After its 3–match winning streak came to an end, the Cal State Monterey Bay volleyball team began a new one by splitting a pair of matches Friday at the West Region Crossover Tournament in The Swamp on the San Francisco State campus. CSUMB dropped a 25–23, 25–22, 25–18 decision to Biola University in the morning before sweeping Academy of Art 25–12, 25–17, 25–14 Friday evening.

The Otters (5–2 overall) didn't pass well in the loss to Biola, committing a season–high 11 receiving errors against the Eagles. They turned the tables against ArtU, however, serving 10 aces while winning all three sets comfortably.

Senior outside hitter Maddy Underwood (Spokane, Wash./Mead HS) reached double–figure kills in both matches with 11 versus Biola and 10 more versus ArtU. Samantha Brennan (Huntington Beach HS) led the net defense with six total blocks on the day while Ashlynne Armstrong (Norco HS) anchored the back row with 26 total digs, including 14 in the win over ArtU.
 

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THE BIOLA MATCH WAS OVER WHEN… a Brinley Beresford kill started a 5–1 Biola run that put the Eagles up 15–8 in the third set. CSUMB never got closer than four points the rest of the way.

THE ARTU MATCH WAS OVER WHEN… Paige Burrell's ace allowed the Otters to close Set 2 with a 9–3 run to take a 2–0 lead.

TOURNAMENT SUCCESS… After losing 7 of 8 matches in tournament play during the 2014 and 2015 seasons, the Otters have been strong tournament participants. Following Friday's split, CSUMB is now 8–2 in its last 10 tournament matches dating back to 2016.

ON THE BLOCKS… The Otters totalled 12 blocks in Friday's win over Academy of Art. That ranks No. 2 in CSUMB history for blocks in a 3–set match. The record of 14 blocks was set—fittingly enough—in The Swamp against San Francisco State on Nov. 7, 2015.

GOING IN FOR THE KILL… With 21 kills Friday, Maddy Underwood moved past Kendra Miller (2004–07) for the No. 10 spot on the Otter career kills list with 471. On a related note, Underwood also passed Tiffany Riggs (2008–11) for No. 11 on the career points list with 530.5.

THE LAST WORD… "I was really pleased with how we responded and took care of business. We passed and defended much better Friday evening and were able to control a lot of the match. I was really pleased to see the improvement from Paige Burrell and her commitment to our defensive system." – CSUMB Head Coach Moe Melhart

THEY'VE GOT NEXT… The Otters conclude play at the West Region Crossover Tournament with a single match Saturday against PacWest Conference rival Holy Names University. First serve is scheduled for 2:45 p.m.