LA JOLLA, Calif. - It was another heart-breaking night for the UC San Diego women's volleyball team Tuesday, which lost its third consecutive five-set match, this one against league rival Cal Poly Pomona. The Tritons had a 2-0 lead before the Broncos came from behind to eke out the victory.
Scores from RIMAC Arena were 15-25, 16-25, 27-25, 25-21 and 15-12.
UCSD is now an even 8-8 on the year and 4-4 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The Tritons slipped to seventh place in the league. CPP moved to 10-6 and 6-2 and is tied for second.
UC San Diego started strong and was hitting .322 after the first two sets, which included a .379 clip in the opening frame. However, the team did not hit above .167 in the remaining three sets.
Cal Poly Pomona hit north of .200 for the first time in set four. The Broncos then hit a blistering .611 in the deciding piece, putting away 12 kills while committing just a single error in 18 attacks.
For the night, UCSD finished at .217 (58-22-166) while CPP ended up at .220 (58-22-164).
A kill by Triton Alyssa McNeely evened the score at 5-5 in the fifth set. However, the Broncos struck for four straight points to go up 9-5 and they would not trail the rest of the way. At 14-11, UCSD turned aside one match point, but a Kristen Hamlin kill sent the Broncos home with a win.
UC San Diego's Meagan Wright (San Diego/Bonita Vista HS) finished with 25 kills and 27.0 points, both match-highs. Her kill and point totals were also career-bests. Setter Heidi Sierks totaled 50 assists and 15 digs for her team-leading 10th double-double of the season. McNeely hit .500 (8-0-16) and had four blocks.
A particularly impressive stat came from Triton libero Amanda Colla (Carlsbad/San Dieguito HS), who had eight service aces. Six of those, including four straight, came during a 10-point run early in the second set. Her eight aces were the most since Nicole Courtney dropped nine against Cal Poly Pomona in 2006.
Colla also added a match-best 23 digs.
Cal Poly Pomona had four players finish with a double-digit kill total including Deanna Blaine (14), Hamlin (12), Alex Hasen (12) and Nicoletta Stork (12). Blaine completed a double-double with a team-best 20 digs and Hasen hit .545 (12-0-22) for the match.
The Tritons were defeated in five sets at Sonoma State and at Humboldt State last week. UC San Diego lost four consecutive five-set contests in 2010.
UCSD hosts two more CCAA matches this week - Cal State East Bay on Oct. 9 and SF State on Oct. 10. Both are slated for 7 p.m. starts and UCSD students, as always, are admitted free.
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