LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The 16th-ranked UC San Diego women's volleyball team improved to 14-0 all-time against San Francisco State in a 22-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-18, 16-14 victory in front of 401 fans in RIMAC Arena on Friday night. The victory did not come easy for the Tritons, as the upset-minded Gators took two of the first three sets of the night. SFSU led 10-5 in the final set before the Tritons scored 5-of-6 points to tie the set. A Lauren Bradley and Sylvia Schmidt block would secure the match for the Tritons. Rebecca Bailey led UCSD with a season high 28 kills. With the win, UCSD improves to 16-4, 10-3 California Collegiate Athletic Association, while SFSU drops to 11-12, 4-10 CCAA.
In addition to Bailey's 28 kills, Schmidt added 10 kills for UCSD. Elaine Chen had 57 assists, six digs and two blocks. She also recorded five of the team's 10 aces on the night. Roxanne Brunsting recorded 21 digs and eight assists, while Hillary Williamson also reached double figures with 12 digs.
SFSU was led by Beth Perkins with nine kills and 15 digs. Sloane Williams had 13 blocks while Kyle Lamet recorded eight blocks.
Dispite six Bailey kills in the first set, the Tritons got off to a slow start and lost set number one. UCSD was behind 21-20, but SFSU scored three straight points, two on Williams blocks and took the first set 25-22.
The Tritons took a 15-10 lead in set two, only to see SFSU pull within 22-21 after a Brittany Powell kill. After a UCSD timeout, the Tritons got a kill from Bailey, a block by Chen and Kaitlin Potter and a kill by Potter to put away the set 25-21 UCSD.
Set three was tied 15 times, the last at 20-20. With SFSU leading 21-20, the Gators scored four of the final five points, finishing it off with an ace at 25-21 SFSU and the Gators took the 2-1 lead in the match.
The Tritons fell behind early to SFSU in the fourth and it looked as if the Gators might pull off the upset. SFSU took a 13-8 lead. Bailey recorded three consecutive kills for UCSD and the Tritons pulled even at 15-15. UCSD continued with the momentum as the set was tied at 18-18. Williamson and Bailey sent down kills for the 20-18 lead. Chen recorded a timely solo block and back-to-back aces by Schmidt put the set out of reach and the Tritons forced the fifth set at 25-18. UCSD ended the set on a 17-10 run.
SFSU scored five of the first six points in the fifth set to take a 5-1 lead. UCSD trailed 8-3 when the teams changed sides. Trailing 10-5, UCSD began to chip away. After a side out, a scoring run off Kimberly Carpenter serves pulled UCSD within 10-9. UCSD tied it at 11-11, only to see SFSU regain the lead. UCSD got its first lead at 13-12 after a Williamson kill. With the score tied at 14-14, a SFSU attack error opened the door for the Tritons and gave them their second match point of the night. This time the Tritons got the final point as Bradley and Schmidt blocked the SFSU attack for the 16-14 win.
UCSD is back in action tomorrow night when it hosts Cal State Monterey Bay. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. in RIMAC Arena.
