Box Score

COSTA MESA, Calif.— The Cal State San Marcos women's volleyball team avenged a regular season road loss to Vanguard to knock off the 22nd ranked Lions in four sets and advance to pool play of the NAIA National Championships.

In the win-or-go-home matchup against a tough opponent on the road, CSUSM showed no signs of nerves, defeating Vanguard 25-17, 25-15,19-25, 25-22 for their first National Tournament victory. The Cougars were just one of two road opponents to win their opening round match, and are now 9-1 lifetime in postseason play.

“The team played exceptionally well— I think we built upon the momentum we created from [winning] the A.I.I. conference tournament,” said CSUSM head coach Andrea Leonard. “We knew going in we would have to execute our gameplan against a very talented Vanguard team, and they stayed composed and executed, which was the telltale key to our victory.”

Trailing 13-12 early on in the first set, the Cougars responded with a 13-4 run to win the first set with relatively little drama. CSUSM stayed hot in the second set, winning the first four points en route to a 18-7 start that essentially clinched a 2-0 advantage. Vanguard bounced back with a strong finish in the third set to avoid the sweep, but the Cougars closed the deal in the fourth.

The Cougars and Lions traded the lead back and forth in the fourth set, and trailed 18-17 until the Cougars rallied off three straight points to take a lead they would never relinquish. After a service error by Vanguard gave San Marcos game point at 24-22, the Cougars made sure the Lions wouldn't get another chance, winning the match on a kill by A.I.I. Player of the Year Taylor DeGraaf.

It was a fitting way to close the match, as DeGraaf was a thorn in the side of the Lions all evening, recording a game-high 17 kills. She also added nine digs, three service aces, and three blocks. Erin Talafus also turned in a monster performance, recording seven kills and a school record 10 blocks on the evening. CSUSM outnumbered Vanguard in blocks 12-4— a huge performance at the net for the Cougars.

“Blocking has been our biggest area of improvement recently, and Vanguard is known for their prowess at the net,” said Leonard. “Middle hitters can go unnoticed at times, but I think Erin was an X-factor for us tonight. She stepped up in a big way.”

Andi Vorderman and Jaycee Arthur also had big games offensively, recording 11 and nine kills, respectively. A.I.I. Setter of the Year Alyssa Foster tallied 36 assists and 13 digs, equaling the dig total for first-team All-Conference libero Nichole May.

“I'm so excited for the kids to be here in just their second year— it's pretty amazing,” added Leonard. We're making improvements each time we play, the girls buy into each other and it's a full team effort. We're having a lot of fun right now.”

The fun will continue for the Cougars in pool play of the NAIA National Tournament at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa on November 27-December 1. The final 24 teams will be split into six pools of four teams, with the top two teams from each pool advancing to the single elimination bracket. The Cougars pool and opponent matchups can be found here. With the victory Saturday, CSUSM improved to 29-13 on the season.