LA JOLLA, Calif. - The 16th-ranked UC San Diego women's volleyball team rallied for a five-game victory over 11th-ranked Cal State San Bernardino 31-33, 24-30, 30-20, 30-20, 15-11 on Saturday night in front of 1,002 fans in RIMAC Arena.  With the win, the Tritons improve to 15-4, 7-3 CCAA while the Coyotes drop to 12-7, 6-4 CCAA.  Nicole Courtney led all players with 20 kills and added 14 digs.  Kimberly Carpenter added 16 kills and Laura Watkins had a match-high 24 digs.  Rebecca Bailey had eight kills and eight blocks.  The Tritons hit .333 in their game three win and continuted their momentum with a .295 percentage in game four.  UCSD is now 4-0 in five game matches this season, with the last two wins against regionally ranked opponents.

In game one, the Coyotes jumped out to a 17-10 lead before UCSD scored three straight points, including two Courtney aces to come within 17-13.  The Tritons would come back to tie the game 18-18 and take their first lead since 2-1 on back-to-back Carpenter kills to go ahead 20-18.  The teams would tie several more times before UCSD took a 28-26 advantage.  The lead would be short lived as CSUSB scored the next three points to go infront 29-28.  Tied at 31, CSUSB would force game point after a Katie Hatch kill.  CSUSB won game one 33-31 on a UCSD error.

In game two, UCSD was down mid-way through and came within 21-20 after a Courtney ace.  CSUSB would score three straight for the 24-20 advantage.  UCSD would get no closer than those four points as the Coyotes took game two 30-24, and went up 2-0 in the match.

After the intermission, the Tritons seemed determined to make a stand as they opened up a 14-6 lead with a Courtney kill capping a 7-1 run.  CSUSB put together a small run to cut the deficit to 19-15, but the Tritons would have an answer with three straight points on a Amber Ries kill, CSUSB attack error and another Courtney kill 22-15.  The Coyotes would get no closer than five points as the Tritons closed out game three 30-20 on an ace by Halvorsen.  UCSD outhit CSUSB .333-.171 in game three.

Game four was similar to game three.  UCSD scored seven of the first nine points of the game and continued to build the lead up to 20-10.  The Tritons would not let up as they cruised to the game four win 30-20.  The Tritons outhit CSUSB .295-.200 in the game, forcing game five.

The Coyotes appeared to gain some momentum back in the fifth game by taking the first two points.  UCSD quickly went in front on a Courtney ace, sandwiched between two CSUSB attack errors.  Tied at 4-4, UCSD scored three straight, including a Bailey kill inbetween another two CSUSB errors.  The teams would change sides after Ries put down a kill to give the Tritons the 8-5 advantage.  The Coyotes would come within 8-7 after two UCSD errors.  With the Tritons leading 10-9, Ries put down a kill and a CSUSB attack error put the Tritons up 12-9.  After back-to-back Dogonyaro kills brought the Coyotes within 12-11, the Tritons went up again by two after another CSUSB error.  Carpenter then sent down a kill to give the Tritons the 14-11 lead and match point.  The Coyotes had their seventh attack error of the game as the Tritons completed their comback by taking game five 15-11.

The Coyotes were led by Lisa Dogonyaro with 19 kills and 23 digs.  Traci Weamer added 17 kills and 14 digs.

Also playing well for the Tritons was Brianna Koche with nine kills and four blocks, Amber Ries with nine kills and Kristin Halvorsen added 29 assists, 12 digs, seven blocks and three kills.

UCSD is back in action on October 21 when it travels to Sonoma State.  First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. in Rohnert Park, Calif.