LA JOLLA, Calif. - A pair of local standouts led the University of California San Diego women's volleyball team to a 3-1 league victory over Cal State LA Saturday as Meagan Wright (Bonita/Bonita Vista HS) totaled 16 kills and Amanda Colla (Carlsbad/San Dieguito Academy) notched a double-double with 10 kills and 14 digs.
Scores of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) match at RIMAC Arena were 25-16, 15-25, 25-14 and 25-22. UC San Diego improved to 5-5 overall and 2-0 in conference play, while CSULA is now 5-5 and 1-1.
Morgan Kissick also turned in a strong performance, collecting 13 points on eight kills, three service aces and three blocks (one solo). Jessyca Beksa hit .467 with eight kills and a lone error in 15 attacks and Lindsey Chun led UCSD defensively with 15 digs.
The Tritons held a huge advantage in hitting percentage, swinging at .218 (55-23-147) compared to .154 (40-20-130) for the Eagles. It was the second night in a row that they hit north of .200.
UC San Diego also came out on top in digs, 67-53.
Cal State LA's Alma Serna had a match-high 17 kills and JamieAnn Bero added 10. Cynthia Giron led all players with her 19 digs and Lauren Gomez had four of the Golden Eagles' nine service aces.
CSULA had nine blocks to UCSD's six.
The opening set was all Tritons as they ran out to a 9-1 lead. Down 24-12, the Eagles scored four straight but UCSD came out of a timeout to see Jessica Rieble put down the winning kill.
It was just the opposite in the second set as CSULA scored 13 of the first 15 points. UC San Diego got back within six points twice, the last coming at 18-12, but LA took seven of the final 10 points to even the match at 1-1. The Golden Eagles hit .407 in the stanza with 11 kills and zero errors in 27 attack attempts.
The match tipped the other way once again in set three with the Tritons racing to a 6-0 lead. A later nine-point run pretty much sealed the deal as it gave them a hefty 21-7 advantage.
The fourth and final set was clearly the most competitive with 13 tie scores and five lead changes. At 8-8, UCSD scored five consecutive points to lead 13-8, but CSULA came right back with four straight scores to bring it back within a single point. It was tied six times after that juncture, including at 21-21 when Triton setter Marie Paris knocked down a kill to knot it. UCSD scored four of the final points to take the set and the match. Two of those points came off Beksa kills.
UC San Diego hosts its seventh-straight home match on Saturday, Sept. 24 as the Tritons entertain Cal State San Marcos in the fourth annual Reis Cup. First serve between the cross-county rivals is slated for 7:00 p.m. at RIMAC Arena.
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