SAN FRANCISCO – The Cal State San Marcos volleyball team saw its historical season come to an end in the opening match of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship. The Cougars, the No. 2 South seed, fell in four sets (24-26, 25-20, 21-25, 18-25) to North's No. 3 seed Chico State.
 
In their first year of being postseason eligible, the Cougars finished the regular season with an 11-6 conference record which was the third-best out of 13 teams. CSUSM concluded the season with a 14-11 overall record.
 
Sophomore middle blocker Maddy Newcombe registered a team-best 16 kills for a .343 attack percentage.
 
Junior outside hitter Lauren Lee tallied 10 kills on 20 attempts and only two errors for a .400 clip. She registered a career-best five aces as CSUSM finished with nine as a team.
 


CSUSM out-blocked the Wildcats 13-8 with junior middle blocker Faith Fortuné recording eight total blocks including three solo blocks. Newcombe finished with five blocks with two of them solo blocks.
 
CSUSM quickly found itself down 4-1 in the first set but five unanswered points including back-to-back aces by Lee put the Cougars up 6-4. Wildcats would have to go extra points to take the first one at 26-24.
 
The Cougars answered by jumping out with an 11-4 in the second set. Behind a .353 attack percentage, CSUSM evened the match at 1-1 with a 25-20 victory.
 
The Wildcats took the leads quickly in both the third and fourth sets, forcing CSUSM to play catchup. Late rallies fell short as Chico State clinched the four-set victory and will face Cal State L.A. in the quarterfinals at 5 p.m. on Friday.  
 
 
With no seniors on this year's squad, CSUSM will return all 15 players for the 2018 season.

Note: Sophomore Maddy Newcombe was named to the CCAA All-Tournament team.