LA JOLLA, Calif. - In a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) battle Wednesday night at RIMAC Arena, the 13th-ranked UC San Diego women's volleyball team outlasted Cal Poly Pomona to earn a five-set victory.
Scores were 17-25, 25-18, 25-23, 17-25 and 15-13 in the back-and-forth affair. The win upped UCSD's overall record to 5-2 and its CCAA mark to an unblemished 3-0. Cal Poly Pomona dropped to an even 3-3 on the season and 1-2 in league action.
The final set saw Cal Poly Pomona jump out to a 4-1 lead behind two blocking plays and two kills from Deanna Blaine. Back-to-back kills from Blaine and Christen Williams gave the Broncos a four-point advantage at 7-3, but UCSD stormed back. Caitlin Brenton, Alyssa McNeely and Danielle Dahle (La Mesa/Grossmont HS) put away consecutive kills and an ensuing attack error by CPP evened the frame at 7-7. It stayed within one point all the way to 13-13 until Brenton and Kameron Cooper each had kills to end it and give the match to the Tritons.
Brenton, the reigning CCAA Player of the Week, finished with 15 kills and 11 digs. She hit .389 with a single error in 36 attacks. Dahle had 12 kills while Cooper and McNeely each recorded 11. Setter Heidi Sierks assisted on 42 kills and added 13 digs and libero Makensie Bates had 24 digs.
The Broncos were led by Blaine's match-high 16 kills and Zoe Herrera's 32 digs, also a match-best. Williams had six blocks.
Cal Poly Pomona out-hit UCSD .187 (64-28-193) to .174 (59-27-184) and held a 13-11 edge in blocks. The Tritons had 90 digs to the Broncos' 86.
UCSD hosts two more CCAA matches this week - Cal State L.A. (4-1, 2-0) on Friday and Cal State Dominguez Hills (1-5, 0-2) on Saturday. Both tilts are set for 7 p.m. starts at RIMAC Arena.
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