Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 After two hard-fought wins over GSAC schools on the first day of competition at Point Loma's Seaside Invitational Tournament, Cal State San Marcos volleyball rolled to a pair of straight-sets wins on Saturday.
The Cougars finish the tournament with a perfect 4-0 record, and are now 13-5 in their first season of competition.
In their first match of the day, the Cougars dispatched of Embry-Riddle (AZ) quickly and without any problems at all, (25-12) (25-12) (25-14).
With the first game tied 6-6, CSUSM established the tone that would persist through the rest of the match, taking 19 of the final 25 points to cruise to the win. The second game would play out much the same way, as a 7-7 tie was turned lopsided when the Cougars won the next six points. In the third set, a seven-point streak in the middle of the set decided it.
Taylor DeGraaf led the team with 18 kills and a sterling .545 hitting percentage. Nichole May led the team with 21 digs, while Alyssa Foster (20 assists) and Taryn Salcedo (18 assists) shared setting duties.
It was business as usual at night as well, as the Cougars defeated McKendree (IL) with equal ease, (25-22) (25-17) (25-9).
The first game was the only tight one played by CSUSM all day, and the Cougars prevailed. A pair of late kills by DeGraaf and a final kill by Erin Talafus on game point (all assisted by Foster) proved the difference in the end.
From there the Cougars would roll, improving their team attack percentage from .250 in the first game to .270 in the second and finally .310 in a third game that CSUSM closed out with 12 consecutive points.
The Cougars' defense was steller in the match, holding McKendree to a .012 hitting percentage and recording 42 digs as a team. May and Lindsey Sappington led with 9 digs apiece. Brittany Thompson, Talafus, Foster, and Sappington all recorded hitting percentages over .300, while DeGraaf led the team with 11 kills.
CSUSM will play its long-awaited first home match this Tuesday, September 13th at 8:00 PM at Escondido High School.
