SEASIDE, Calif. - The UC San Diego women's volleyball team ended its regular season with a sweep over Cal State Monterey Bay Saturday at The Kelp Bed. Scores were 25-23, 25-21 and 27-25.
UCSD improved to 14-12 overall and 12-10 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). CSUMB ended its season at 9-17 overall and 9-13 in league matches.
The Tritons had a strong offensive night, finishing with a .317 hitting percentage, their second-highest of the season. They had 55 kills and only 16 errors in 123 attempts. The Otters hit .262 (48-16-122).
Three Tritons had 10 or more kills, including Caitlin Brenton (14), Kameron Cooper (13) and Alyssa McNeely (12). McNeely hit .562 (12-3-16). Setter Heidi Sierks logged her 21st double-double of the year with 43 assists and 10 digs.
Jessica Malcolm had a match-high 20 kills for Monterey Bay and Rachel Cookus led all players with 18 digs.
"We came into the match focused and ready to play," said UCSD head coach Ricci Luyties. "Even though we started down early, we didn't get rattled. It was nice to see everyone respond to their good plays with confidence and know that our time would come."
The Otters jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first set and were ahead for most of the frame. At 22-22, the Tritons scored three of the final four points to take the set. Brenton and Cooper each contributed kills in the waning moments.
It was quite the opposite in set number two as UCSD got out to a 4-0 lead and pushed it to 8-1. However, CSUMB came back. Down 15-14, the Otters scored two straight to take a brief lead. The Tritons scored the next three points, backed by two Cooper kills, and would lead the rest of the way.
In the final set, UCSD led 21-17 before Cal State Monterey Bay took four consecutive points to tie it at 21-21. At 25-25, back-to-back blocks by the Tritons ended the night. McNeely was in on both.
"Everyone came up big in crunch time," said Luyties. "They really played together as a team tonight."
The Tritons swept both matches against the Otters this season, also winning 3-0 at RIMAC Arena on Oct. 10.
The field for the NCAA postseason will be announced Sunday with a selection show airing at 7 p.m. PT at NCAA.com. UCSD's season is most likely over as it was not ranked among the top eight teams in the most recent West Region poll.
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