Box Score In all likelihood, at some point in the team's ten remaining game days this season, Cal State San Marcos volleyball will struggle.  It's been a fairytale season so far for Coach Andrea Leonard & company – but in sports, sometimes you have off-days, and one of these nights it may happen to the Cougars.
 
Tonight was not that night.  Playing in front of the home crowd at Escondido High School, Coach Leonard's squad dispatched of a very game Hope International team in straight sets, 25-21, 25-17, 25-17.
 
#15-ranked CSUSM improves to 17-6 on the season.  Hope drops to 5-16.
 
Coming off an emotional loss (but encouraging overall performance) in front of a raucous crowd against now-#2 Concordia, Wednesday's match was precisely the kind of matchup that could present problems for the Cougars if the team didn't come to play.  It's a testament to the team's focus and the coaching staff that CSUSM was able to win with relative ease.
 
The Cougars came out on fire in the first set, jumping out to a 7-2 lead early.  Hope hung around, at one point cutting the lead to 22-19, but CSUSM would prevail as Taylor DeGraaf slammed down a kill on game point.
 
DeGraaf was dominant in the match, leading the team with 18 kills and an out-of-control.615 hitting percentage.
 
Hope struck early in the second set, taking a 7-3 lead and threatening to make a match of it.  But on the strength of Nichole May's serving, the Cougars went on a 4-point run to even it up, then another shortly after to go up 14-10.  With the game at 19-17, CSUSM would win the final 6 points of the match, with Lindsey Sappington closing things out with a service ace – one of 14 aces in the match for CSUSM.
 
The final set was close but featured little drama, as the Cougars won three straight points with the game tied 6-6 and never looked back.  Brittany Thompson closed things out with a solo block on match point to send the fans home happy.
 
As a team, the Cougars hit .358 for the match, recording 43 kills to just 9 attack errors.  May led the squad with 13 digs, and setter Alyssa Foster led with 31 assists – though fellow setter Taryn Salcedo saw plenty of playing time and added 5 assists of her own.
 
The Cougars will play at the La Sierra Tournament this weekend.