Box Score Last weekend, CSUSM volleyball established a high-water mark for the young program when it upset #7 Lewis-Clark State and #14 Southern Oregon en route to a 4-0 finish at the Biola Holiday Inn Summer Slam.

After Friday, it's safe to say a new mark has been set.

Competing at the Asics Crowne Plaza Labor Day Tournament in Irvine, Coach Andrea Leonard's Cougars shocked #1-ranked Fresno Pacific in four sets, upending the top team in the NAIA.  CSUSM won 25-22, 25-22, 18-25, and 25-23 in a thrilling final set.

The win improves CSUSM to 8-3 in its first season of competition.  Fresno Pacific falls to 0-3.  CSUSM will play #12 Point Loma later this afternoon.

Kara Barkdoll and Taylor DeGraaf were forces on the attack for the Cougars.  Barkdoll tied Lindsey Sappington for the team lead with 12 kills and posted a robust .455 attack percentage, while DeGraaf, the NAIA national leader in kills at 135, added 11 more to her total and posted a .333 attack percentage.

Despite winning the match in 4 sets, the Cougars won just one more overall point than Fresno Pacific, coming through consistently when it mattered most.  With the fourth set tied 23-23, Jacqui Lewis won a huge point for the team with a kill to set up match point, which Kara Barkdoll finished off with an emphatic spike to seal the upset and send the Cougar bench storming onto the court in celebration.

National assist leader Alyssa Foster had the game high total as usual, tallying 48 assists including ones on the final two points.  Nichole May's game-high six aces moved her into a tie for the national lead, and her game-high 28 digs moved her into third place nationally.