SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Facing a bit of déjà vu, the Cal State San Marcos volleyball team once again recorded a sweep in its first match, this time to Fresno Pacific (1-3), before dropping three sets in the nightcap at the hands of Saint Martin's (3-1).
The Cougars close out their opening weekend with a 2-2 record.
Sophomore outside hitter
Maddy Newcombe tallied a team-best 23 kills and freshman outside hitter
Micah Hébert chipped in 22 kills on the day. Sophomore setter
Aleese Wheaton dished out 61 assists while compiling 28 digs. Freshman libero
Grecia Cordero-Barr served up six aces while matching Wheaton's 28 digs.
Next up for the Cougars is the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase hosted by Western Oregon. CSUSM opens the tournament with a match-up against the Wolves on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m.
GAME 1: CSUSM 3 – FPU 0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-18)
After tying the opening set four times, CSUSM took its first lead on a Cordero-Barr ace to make it 12-11. The Sunbirds went on a 6-2 run to make it 17-14. The Cougars turned up the heat by scoring four unattested points capped by a block from Newcombe and junior
Faith Fortuné. Both teams traded points until Hébert notched a kill followed by her first collegiate ace to clinch the victory at 25-22.
The second set had the similar makings of the first with the final score being once again 25-22 in CSUSM's favor. Hébert put together a .625 hitting percentage after going 6-for-8 with only one error.
The Cougars turned on their engines early in the third set, going on a 8-2 run to take a 15-9 lead and never looked back to capture a 25-18 victory. As a team, CSUSM hit .395 with 18 kills on 38 attempts and only three errors.
GAME 2: SMU 3 – CSUSM 0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-22)
CSUSM was forced to play catch-up and couldn't quite close the gap in their opening set to the Saints before falling 25-17. The Cougars jumped out to early leads in the final two sets, but just couldn't maintain them.
Fortuné finished with a .412 clip with seven kills and no errors while collecting four blocks.
| 2017 CSUSM Cougar Classic All-Tournament Team |
| Grecia Cordero-Barr, CSUSM |
| Kylei Dewar, Fresno Pacific |
| Rachel Gondrezick, Saint Martin's |
| Becca Gruber, St. Cloud State |
| Micah Hebert, CSUSM |
| Clara Krenz, St. Cloud State |
| Krista Kuglin, St. Cloud State |
| Megan Manierski, Adelphi |
| Nicole Miller, St. Cloud State |
| Rebecca Mitchell, Saint Martin's |
| Nicolette Nesbitt, Saint Martin's |
| Maddy Newcombe, CSUSM |
