Box Score

ESCONDIDO, Calif.— One more point. That's all the Cal State San Marcos volleyball team needed Tuesday evening to send an exciting duel between the 16th ranked Cougars and the 14th Westmont Warriors to a fifth set.

After dropping the first two sets, Westmont appeared to be on their way to a relatively drama-free victory, but the Cougars responded in a big way, winning the third set in outstanding fashion, and leading the fourth set from start to finish—all the way until the final two points.

It appeared as though the match would head to a fifth set after Andi Vordermann's kill put the Cougars up 24-19, needing just one more point to even the match at two sets a piece. However, the Warriors responded with five straight points to tie the score at 24 before Taylor DeGraaf gave the Cougars another chance to clinch it after a clutch kill.

But it was not to be, as Westmont avoided dropping the set for the sixth time, and continued on to win the final three points to win the set and the match in front of a stunned Cougar crowd.

CSUSM drops to 18-11 after the loss, their second this season to Westmont. Westmont defeated the Cougars earlier this season in another tight battle that went to five sets in Santa Barbara. The Warriors improved to 20-5 with the victory.

Not be overlooked was the consistently outstanding play of sophomore outside hitter Taylor DeGraaf, who recorded a game-high 21 kills and 13 digs, as well as three block assists at the net. Junior Jaycee Arthur had  a strong final two sets offensively, and finished the match with 9 kills and 7 digs. Setter Alyssa Foster recorded a game-high 45 assists, and added nine digs, while libero Nichole May led all players with 20 digs and chipped in five assists.

The Cougars will hit the road Friday to face Occidental in Pasadina, but will return home Saturday to host Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) at 6:00 pm at Escondido High School.