LA JOLLA, Calif. - The 4th-ranked UC San Diego women's volleyball team earned head coach
Tom Black career win No. 100 in a 25-14, 25-16, 25-20 win over Cal State Stanislaus on Saturday night in RIMAC Arena. Through two sets, the Tritons were contending to beat the conference record for team hitting percentage, hitting at a blistering .456 clip through two sets. The Tritons finished the match hitting at a .356 efficiency, just off their high set the previous night.
Sylvia Schmidt led the Tritons with 14 kills on .323 hitting. With the win, UCSD improves to 14-1, 6-1 California Collegiate Athletic Association, while the Warriors drop to 6-8, 0-6 CCAA.
Coach Black's 100 wins have come in just over four seasons and 127 total games. "The mark makes me reflect on the student-athletes I have been able to coach," said Black. "It's the program that is winning these games."
10 different Tritons recorded kills on the night, led by Schmidt's 14. Katie Condon added seven kills while Julia Freidenberg added six kills on .857 hitting. "I thought we were very steady with several different lineups," said Black.
Freidenberg's night raised her team-high hitting percentage to a .385 clip. Only two other Tritons in school history have hit over a .380 percentage.
Lauren Bradley added five kills while Cara Simonsen and Alanna Rutan had four kills apiece.
At the setter position, Elaine Chen had 32 assists with eight digs and a kill. For the first time this season, Thalia McCann saw action. In parts of two sets, McCann had six assists, one dig and one kill.
Roxanne Brunsting added 13 digs and six assists. The sophomore libero has recorded at least 10 digs in all but one match this season.
The Tritons hit at a .500 clip in the first set and only committed four errors in the first two sets combined.
With the Tritons leading 10-8 in the first set, UCSD went on a scoring run with Janessa Werhane serving to lead 18-10. Werhane had an ace in the run as UCSD cruised to the 25-14 win. Freidenberg and Bradley had the final two kills of the set.
In the second set, UCSD scored eight of the first nine points. Cal State Stanislaus came back within 10-7, but UCSD quickly responded by opening up an 18-12 lead after a Schmidt kill and Warrior error. McCann sent down the final kill of the set at 25-16 UCSD.
The Warriors led for much of the first half of the final set. The Warriors built a 10-6 lead, forcing the Tritons to take an early timeout. UCSD rallied with four consecutive kills to take a 15-13 lead, its first lead of the set. Once with the lead, the Tritons began to pull away. Leading 20-17, a CSUS ball handling error and ace by Kaitlin Potter gave UCSD a 22-17 edge. Karen Reis served up an ace to end the set at 25-20 UCSD.
UCSD is back in action next week when it hosts CSU Monterey Bay at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night in RIMAC Arena.