POMONA, Calif. - The UC San Diego women's volleyball team lost its fourth straight match Wednesday, falling in four sets at league rival Cal Poly Pomona. Scores were 27-25, 25-11, 23-25 and 25-22 at Kellogg Gym.
Both teams entered the match tied for fifth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). UCSD is now 12-10 overall and 10-8 in the league. CPP improved to 13-8 and 11-7.
Cal Poly Pomona hit a solid .319 with 69 kills, 17 more than UC San Diego. The Tritons attacked at .223.
Nicoletta Stork was a force for CPP, collecting a match-high 24 kills while hitting .548. She had just one attack error in 42 attempts. Deanna Blaine had 15 kills, three service aces and 12 digs. Zoe Herrera totaled a match-best 21 digs.
UCSD was led by Caitlin Brenton, who had 19 kills, two aces, eight digs and five blocks. Setter Heidi Sierks notched her 17th double-double of the season with 42 assists and 18 digs, while Alyssa McNeely had seven blocks.
There were 22 tie scores during the match, 13 of those coming in the opening set.
The Tritons had two set points in the first frame. With a 25-24 lead, however, the Broncos scored three consecutive points to go up 1-0. Stork earned two of the points with kills.
CPP ran away with the second set, getting out to a 17-4 lead as Alex Hasen served 11 straight points.
Trailing 17-15 in the third set, UC San Diego scored four consecutive times to take a 19-17 advantage. The Broncos had it tied at 21-21, but the Tritons won four of the next six points to win their first and only set.
Tied at 6-6 in the final set, a Blaine kill put the Broncos up for good. A Danielle Dahle (La Mesa/Grossmont HS) kill got the Tritons back within a point at 22-21, but Cal Poly Pomona took three of the final four points of the match to end the night.
The teams split the season series as the Tritons won in five sets at RIMAC Arena on Sept. 17.
UCSD hosts No. 18 Cal State San Bernardino Friday and Humboldt State Saturday. Both matches start at 7 p.m. Saturday will be Senior Night as Brenton, Rachel Gam and Alyssa Lin will be playing in their final home contest.
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