SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Opening its California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) season Tuesday on the road, the UC San Diego women's volleyball team solidly defeated No. 14 Cal State San Bernardino in straight sets. Scores at Coussoulis Arena were 25-20, 25-17, 25-11.
UCSD is now 5-4 overall, while CSUSB, favored to win the league, dropped to 7-2. It was the conference opener for both teams.
"A win against the team that has been dominating our conference for six plus years is a nice accomplishment," said UCSD head coach Ricci Luyties. "We had a complete team effort tonight that we can be proud of, but we want to keep getting more consistent and continue improving."
Kameron Cooper was a force from the middle, hitting .750 and collecting 13 kills and 17.0 points, all match-highs. The senior made just one error in 16 attacks. She also contributed four digs, three blocks, two service aces and an assist.
With seven digs, Danielle Dahle became just the third Triton in program history to amass 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. She also had 11 kills and hit .303 on the night.
UCSD hit well as a team, posting a .321 (44-10-106) attack percentage, its second-highest of the season. The Tritons sided out 75 percent of the time and held a 9-0 advantage in aces.
UC San Diego hit a match-high .372 (19-3-43) in the opening set. The score was close most of the way. At 19-19, the Tritons erupted to score six of the next seven points to win it as Danielle Dahle (La Mesa/Grossmont HS) and Rebecca Seaberry each had a pair of kills during the run. Seaberry was also in on a block.
Set two stayed close until the Tritons turned it on again, this time about halfway through the frame. Trailing 14-13, they won nine of the next 10 points to go up by a score of 22-15. Meagan Wright (San Diego/Bonita Vista HS) slammed three kills during the spree while Cooper and Dahle each had two.
UCSD got out to an 8-3 lead in the third set, but a four-point Coyote run got them back within a point. However, the Tritons responded once again with a huge run, taking 11 of the next 12 points and blazing to a 19-8 advantage. Wright had all three of her service aces during the span. At 20-11, UCSD scored the final five points of the night in a row to close it out.
Wright hit .375 and recorded 12 kills, a team-high 13 digs and 15.5 points. Senior setter Heidi Sierks matched a career-best with six blocks. She also added 36 assists and nine digs. Seaberry had five blocks.
For the Coyotes, Brenna McIntosh led with 10 kills and 12 points. Ashely Solis led all players with 18 digs.
The last time UCSD had swept CSUSB was in 1993. The two teams meet again in a week (Sept. 22) at RIMAC Arena for the third annual Reis Cup.
"We play them again in a week and I'm sure they're going to be hungry for revenge," said Luyties. "We have to strive to play even better in the next match."
It was the fifth time this season that the Tritons faced a top 20 team.
A bit of history goes down this Thursday as UCSD plays its first-ever match against new CCAA opponent Cal State San Marcos (2-5). The Tritons and Cougars face off at 7 p.m. at Hunter Gymnasium.
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