LA JOLLA, Calif. - A season-high .293 attack percentage led the No. 13 UC San Diego women's volleyball team to a 3-1 win over California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) rival Cal State Dominguez Hills Saturday evening at RIMAC Arena.
Getting off to a slow start, UCSD dropped the opening set by a 23-25 count. However, they came back to win the next three by scores of 28-26, 25-13 and 25-12.
With the victory, UCSD is now 6-3 overall and 4-1 in the CCAA. CSUDH, which has struggled so far this season, fell to 1-7 overall and 0-4 in league matches.
On the attack, the Tritons put down 57 kills while making only 18 errors in 133 attempts. The team's previous season best for hitting was .266 against Cal State Stanislaus on Sept. 12. UCSD was also effective from the service line, acing the Toros 10 times, also a season-high.
Individually, two Tritons recorded double-doubles. Danielle Dahle (La Mesa/Grossmont HS) finished with 13 kills and 10 digs, while Amanda Colla (Carlsbad/San Dieguito Academy) registered 11 kills and 11 digs. Caitlin Brenton had 23 points with 16 kills, five aces and four block assists to go along with nine digs.
CSUDH attacked at .171 (48-24-140) and racked up nine errors at the service line.
Alijah Gunsaulus led all players with 25 kills while hitting .500. Korryne Kelley had 11 digs on the defensive side.
The second set proved to be pivotal. The Tritons owned a 16-12 lead after a Brenton kill, but the Toros scored six consecutive points to take an 18-16 advantage. Dominguez Hills had set points at 24-23 and 25-24, but UC San Diego turned both of them away. At 26-26, a Dahle kill gave set point to the Tritons and blocks by Dahle and Alyssa McNeely on the next play gave the set, and the momentum, to UCSD.
With the third frame tied 7-7, the Tritons strung together a four-point run, backed by two Dahle kills, and they would not surrender the lead the rest of the way. That included the fourth set as the Tritons scored the first two points of the stanza and would lead wire-to-wire. Leading 16-10, a huge seven-point spree essentially iced the victory. Rachel Gam scored the Tritons' 24th and 25th points on kills.
The contest wrapped up a season-long five-match home stand for UCSD. The Tritons hit the road for the next two weeks, beginning with Sonoma State on Sept. 26 and San Francisco State on Sept. 27.
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