Box Score

SIOUX CITY, Iowa— The Cal State San Marcos volleyball team played No. 7 ranked Indiana Wesleyan just about as close as you can without picking up a set, but were swept by the Wildcats Wednesday in a match that was closer than the score would indicate.

A day after catching fire with clutch points late in each set to sweep No. 6 The Master's, CSUSM fell to Indiana Wesleyan 22-25, 27-29, 23-25 to drop to 1-1 in pool play. The Cougars will face No. 21 Viterbo (Wis.) Thursday likely needing a win to finish in the top two of their pool and advance to single-elimination bracket play.

The Cougars raced out to a 6-3 lead early in the first set, but the Wildcats quickly closed the gap to take the lead, but the game stayed close throughout. CSUSM had a chance to tie down 20-19, but IWU held on without relinquishing the lead.

Despite another early lead in the second set, the Cal State San Marcos found themselves down 24-16 a short time later. Amazingly, the Cougars rallied to fight off eight consecutive set points with Brittany Thompson serving to tie the score at 24. IWU then grabbed three more set points, but CSUSM fought them off each time before finally faltering on the Wildcats' 12th set point to fall behind 2-0.

The teams traded several leads in the third set, and a Jaycee Arthur kill tied the score at 23-23 late in the set. After an attack error gave the Wildcats match point, CSUSM could not work their magic again to fight off defeat, falling 25-23.

Despite the loss, Jaycee Arthur proved to be the player of the match, recording a double-double with a game best 17 kills and 12 digs. The kill total was a career high for Arthur, and she did so with an efficient .304 hitting percentage, also adding a solo block and a block assist.

A.I.I. Conference Setter of the Year Alyssa Foster tallied 40 assists—more than the entire Wildcat team—and chipped in 13 digs, 2 kills, an ace and a block. 1st Team All-Conference selection Nichole May led the Cougars with 19 digs.

With the loss, the Cougars dropped to 30-14 on the season, and 1-1 in pool play. Indiana Wesleyan improved to 36-3 overall and 1-1 in pool play after falling to Viterbo 3-1 Tuesday. CSUSM will face Viterbo Thursday in their final pool play matchup.  Viterbo is 2-0 in pool play after knocking off The Master's College Wednesday. The Master's is 0-2 in pool play, and will face Indiana Wesleyan Thursday after the CSUSM-Viterbo matchup.