LA JOLLA, Calif. - The 11th-ranked UC San Diego women's volleyball team picked up another victory on Saturday, defeating visiting Sonoma State 3-0 in a CCAA matchup at RIMAC Arena. The Tritons used a balanced offensive attack and solid defensive play to turn away the Seawolves 25-14, 25-21 and 25-22.
With the victory, UCSD improves to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in California Collegiate Athletic Association play, while Sonoma State falls to 3-3 and 0-2 in the CCAA.
A total of six players finished with at least four kills for the Tritons, with senior Kaitlin Potter leading the way with nine on .474 hitting. Roxanne Brunsting finished with seven kills and 15 digs, while Hillary Williamson tallied five kills and 17 digs. Setter Thalia McCann also had five kills and racked up 31 assists.
"This was definitely a team victory for us tonight," head coach Ricci Luyties said. "We got contributions from a number of people offensively and we played pretty consistently tonight, so I'm pleased with the effort."
Allyson Sather sent down a match-high 12 kills for the Seawolves, while Keala Peterson had a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs.
With the score tied at nine in the first set, UCSD got three straight kills from Brunsting, Potter and Katie Condon to take control. An attack error by Sather gave the Tritons a 20-11 lead and a Potter kill moments later made it 23-13 in favor of the Tritons. After Nicole Gragnola answered with a kill for the Seawolves, Brunsting and McCann added back-to-back kills to close out the game one victory for UCSD.
Things were much closer in set two, with neither team leading by more than two points in the game. With the score tied at 20, Peterson was called for a service error and Julia Freidenberg picked up a kill to give the Tritons a narrow two-point advantage. Freidenberg and Williamson then combined for a block of Peterson for the deciding point as UCSD took game two, 25-21.
In the third set, the Seawolves got out to a 17-14 lead following an attack error by Brunsting and a kill by Sather a few plays later made it 19-16. The visitors held a 22-20 advantage following a service error by Janessa Werhane, but Cara Simonsen's kill moments later tied the score at 22. UCSD took a 24-22 lead on an attack error by Peterson and McCann's ace at match point sealed the victory for the Tritons.
UCSD outhit SSU .211 to .136 and held 7-5 blocking advantage. The Tritons recorded five service aces to just one for the Seawolves.
UCSD returns to the court on Wednesday to take on Cal State East Bay at 7:00 at RIMAC, before traveling to Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State next weekend.
