LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The 20th-ranked UC San Diego women's volleyball team recorded a big conference win, sweeping 19th-ranked Chico State 30-25, 31-29, 30-27 on Saturday night in RIMAC Arena. The win was highlighted by a Triton rally in game two. UCSD was down 16-9 and did not take its first lead of the game until 26-25. A service ace by Sylvia Schmidt and a kill by Hannah Gary gave the Tritons the game two win. UCSD's middles led the way with Schmidt sending down 12 kills and hitting .435 and Gary notching nine kills and hitting .368. The Tritons improve to 15-6, 9-4 CCAA while the Wildcats drop to 15-8, 8-5 CCAA.
In addition to Schmidt and Gary, Rebecca Bailey and Casey Wilson added nine kills apiece. Amber Ries added seven kills for the Tritons. Natalie Facchini recorded 16 digs and Wilson added 10. Elaine Chen accounted for five of UCSD's nine aces on the night.
The Wildcats were led by Lindsay Macias with 13 kills while Gillian Heydorff added 12.
In the first game, UCSD broke open a tight game to lead 17-11, forcing CSUC into a timeout. At that time, UCSD was hitting efficiently, with eight kills, one error in 19 attempts. The Tritons would lead by as many as eight points at 23-15 after kills by Ries and Gary. UCSD cruised to the 30-25 win after a Bailey kill.
Chico State took the lead in game two at 16-9. The Tritons slowly chipped away and tied it at 23-23, the first tie since the score was 1-1. The Tritons took the 26-25 lead on a solo block by Wilson. CSUC came back to take a 29-28 lead, but Bailey came through with a kill to tie it at 29-29. Schmidt came up with a big ace to give the Tritons game point. In what became a scramble on the final play, Gary would send down a kill on a joust ball, 31-29 UCSD.
In game three, UCSD looked to be in fine position for the sweep, leading 18-10 after a five point serving run by Torres. Much like the Tritons in game two, CSUC rallied to cut the lead down to 22-19 after a block by Kelly Smiland and Crystal Trifeletti. UCSD put a small run together to lead 28-21, but Chico State gave one last push. The Wildcats scored four straight points to cut the Triton lead down to 29-27, but a Schmidt kill closed out the game and gave the Tritons the sweep.
For the second consecutive season, UCSD and CSUC split its CCAA matches. Earlier this season, Chico State defeated the Tritons 3-1 in Chico.
UCSD is back in action on Friday, October 26 when it takes on Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona.
