LAKESIDE, Calif. – After a hot start, the 23rd ranked Cal State San Marcos volleyball team came up short against San Diego Christian, falling 3-2 (25-12, 23-25, 25-12, 25-19, 10-15), Tuesday, at East County Volleyball Academy.  The Cougars drops to 12-6 on the season, while the Hawks move to 4-4 overall.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Brooke Butler led the Cougars with 16 kills and a .324 attack percentage. Senior setter Alyssa Foster collected 29 assists and 16 digs for her 10th double-double of the season. Freshman Cheyenne Richards and senior Alyssa Hubbard each reached double-digits with 14 and 10 kills, respectively.
 
CSUSM came out fired up and snagged the opening set 25-12. The Cougars were firing on all cylinders, posting a .480 team attack percentage, while holding the Hawks to a .200 clip. Butler led CSUSM with five kills, while Richards totaled four.
 
San Diego Christian evened the match with a 25-23 win in the second set.  Both teams struggled with their hitting yet SDCC edged out CSUSM .163 to .114. Richards registered five kills while sophomore Taylor Harris tallied six digs. SDCC was led by Ashley Simpson and Lauren Phillips who had four kills apiece.
 
The Cougars responded with another 25-12 victory after registering five team blocks including a solo by sophomore Markisha Henderson-Diaz. Richards had four of CSUSM's nine kills in the set.
 
CSUSM jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fourth set but saw it slip away quickly, falling behind 7-5 to the Hawks. The Cougars would even the score six times until SDCC went on a 9-3 run to win 25-19 and force a fifth set.
 
The Cougars fell behind early in the fifth set, but was able to seven the set at 9-9. Once again, a Hawk run put the set away and captured the match win for SDCC.
 
CSUSM continues its four-match road trip on Saturday, Sept. 20 at La Sierra. First serve is scheduled for 8 p.m.