Box Score Box Score

It has been quite a year for the Cal State San Marcos Volleyball team, and the Cougars capped off an impressive regular season with a dominating weekend in Arizona, winning all four games of the A.I.I. Tournament to claim both a conference championship and a trip to the NAIA National Tournament.

Facing a La Sierra team that stunned CSUSM at home just 3 weeks ago, the Cougars put it all together Saturday night, winning in 4 sets (25-16, 25-18, 22-25, 25-23).  The Cougars are now 29-7 on the season, and La Sierra drops to 23-3, with two of those belonging to CSUSM.

The match was tight in its early stages, with CSUSM holding a 15-14 edge in the first set until a Kara Barkdoll kill ignited a 10-2 run to close out the first set 25-16. The Cougars carried that momentum into the second set, winning again with relative ease 25-18.

With La Sierra desperate and on the brink of elimination, the Eagles rallied from a 12-9 deficit to take the third set 22-25. But it would only postpone the inevitable, as the Cougars marched on to take a tight fourth set 25-23. The Cougars took the last three points to secure the title, with player of the match Lindsey Sappington sealing the deal with a kill on game point.

Sappington was brilliant on the evening, recording a season-high 19 kills with an astounding .486 attack percentage. Taylor Degraaf and Lindsey Mitchell, who were both named to the A.I.I. All-Tournament Team, added 12 and 9 kills apiece. Libero and team captain Nichole May was also named to the All-Tournament Team, and had a game-high 24 digs.

The Cougars await to hear their opening round opponent and location for the NAIA Championships. Information will be posted on csusmcougars.com as soon as it is released.