LA JOLLA, Calif. - The 2nd-ranked UC San Diego women's volleyball team hit at a .455 clip in the fourth set, defeating No. 22 Cal State L.A. 25-23, 27-25, 24-26, 25-11 on Friday night in RIMAC Arena. The first three sets were close throughout as the match had 32 total ties and 14 lead changes. Four Tritons reached double digits in kills, led by
Hillary Williamson with 15 kills on .444 hitting. "Hillary really gave us a lift after the break," said head coach
Tom Black. "She was strong in the third and came through in the fourth." With the win, UCSD improves to 22-1, 14-1 California Collegiate Athletic Association, while the Golden Eagles drop to 16-7, 12-4 CCAA.
The Tritons were strong from the service line with 13 aces, compared to just six by CSULA. Katie Condon and Janessa Werhane had three aces apiece. The 13 aces was one short of their season high of 14. UCSD served up those 14 aces against Saginaw Valley State on September 4.
Cal State L.A. managed to stay in the contest with 15.0 blocks compared to just 6.0 blocks by the Tritons. CSULA's Marquis Mora had 10 blocks and eight kills while Zuzana Cizova had 10 kills. Gabriela Bulawczyk added nine kills.
Williamson added seven digs with her 15 kills. Sylvia Schmidt added 14 kills with Condon having 12 kills and Freidenberg with 11 kills on .579 hitting. Elaine Chen had 49 assists and 13 digs while Roxanne Brunsting had a match-high 18 digs.
Freidenberg's 11 kills was one short of her season high of 12, which she notched against Cal State Monterey Bay.
The previous three meetings between the two squads had gone five sets, and this night looked to be headed in the same direction.
In the first set, the Tritons took an 11-6 lead after consecutive kills by Condon and Schmidt. CSULA stormed right back and tied it at 12-12. Neither team would have more than a two point edge the rest of the set. The final tie came at 17-17. With UCSD leading 23-20, CSULA sent down a kill and an ace to pull within 23-22. Condon came through with a kill to force set point. After a CSULA sideout, the Tritons called timeout. Up 24-23, a CSULA service error gave the Tritons the win at 25-23.
The largest lead for either team in the second set was two points. The teams would tie 12 times with six lead changes in the set. The final tie came at 25-25 as Condon and Williamson finished the match with back-to-back kills and the Tritons won 27-25 to go up two sets to none. CSULA outhit the Tritons .357 - .261 in the set.
The third set featured 11 ties but just two lead changes. The Tritons' largest lead came at three points, the last at 17-14 after a Williamson kill. CSULA tied the set at 19-19 and took a 21-19 lead after a UCSD error. UCSD rallied to tie the set at 24-24 after a Williamson and Audrey Green block but CSULA scored the final two points for the win at 26-24.
The fourth set was all Tritons as Werhane served up four straight points after UCSD had an 8-4 lead. UCSD would extend the lead to 16-6 after a Green service ace. Schmidt had a late service run to ice the match to lead 23-9. Williamson had the final kill at 25-11.
UCSD is back in action next week when it faces Cal State Stanislaus in Turlock on Friday, October 30.
