Nearing the end of what has been an absolute dream season for the inaugural Cal State San Marcos volleyball team, the squad was issued a sharp wake-up call at home on Tuesday night, as La Sierra ran the Cougars out of the building in a 3-1 loss.

#15-ranked CSUSM drops to 22-7 on the season.  La Sierra improves to 19-2.

With CSUSM entering the match having already handed La Sierra one of its two losses earlier this month, and the Cougars playing at their home gym in Escondido in front of a loud and supportive crowd, the home team had to figure to be the favorites on the night.  But from the outset, it was clear the two teams were evenly matched.  CSUSM pulled out the first set in a nail-biter, 27-25, on the strength of some brilliant play by Taylor DeGraaf down the stretch.  The key point came at 25-25, when a dig nearly took setter Alyssa Foster into the net, but she was able to get a nifty set up for DeGraaf, who climbed the ladder to reach it and tap it over the La Sierra blockers for the kill.

Things would turn quickly in the second set, with La Sierra dominating early to take a commanding 12-5 lead.  But CSUSM would battle back, chipping away throughout the game until finally evening things up at 21-21.  CSUSM would actually take a 23-22 lead, but La Sierra stormed back to nab the set, 25-23.

That would prove to make all the difference, as CSUSM went from a potential 2-0 lead in the match to tied 1-1, and it would eventually unravel them.  With a 12-9 lead in the third set, CSUSM fell victim to a 7-point run by La Sierra, keyed by 4'10” libero Nikki Cheong, who was brilliant throughout the match.  La Sierra would close out the set 25-19.

Having landed body blows in the second and third sets and now smelling blood, La Sierra went for the knockout in the fourth set, and the Cougars had no answer.  La Sierra led 17-4 before the Cougars were able to rally a bit and close the final margin to 25-14.

It's nearly impossible for a team – particularly a young one – to go through a season without having a match like this, and the Cougars did well to make it this far.  With four regular season games remaining before postseason play begins, there is plenty of time for Coach Andrea Leonard's squad to bounce back and enter the conference tournament on a high note. 

CSUSM will play at Arizona Christian this Friday.