SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos volleyball team dominated on its first day of the fourth annual Cougar Classic with a pair of three-set victories over Saint Martin's and Western New Mexico on Thursday in The Sports Center.
CSUSM 3 – Saint Martin's 0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-19)
TOP PERFORMERS
Emily Vander Weide – 9 kills | 10 digs
Maddy Newcombe – 7 kills | 4 blocks
Grecia Cordero-Barr – 21 digs | 1 ace
Aleese Wheaton – 18 assists | 2 aces
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Cougars broke away from the Saints at the 9-all point, knocking out four consecutive points and never looking back to collect a 25-21 win.
- CSUSM traded points with Saint Martin's in the second set before once again hitting the middle mark of the set, pulling away to record a 25-22 victory.
- The Cougars sprinted out to a 7-3 lead in the third set, but the Saints rallied back to even the set at 15-all before taking a 17-15 lead.
- CSUSM tallied five consecutive points capped by an Olivia Aguilar kill and cruised to a 25-19 victory to clinch the match.
QUICK HITS
- CSUSM (1-0) opened the season with a Cougar Classic victory for the fourth consecutive season.
- Saint Martin is the first team to repeat as a participant in the Cougar Classic.
- The win over Saint Martin's marks the first in program history as the Saints were victorious in the first meeting in 2017.
- In her first collegiate match, Vander Weide almost snagged a double-double after finishing with nine kills and 10 digs.
CSUSM 3 – Western New Mexico 0 (27-25, 25-19, 25-13)
TOP PERFORMERS
Olivia Aguilar – 11 kills | 7 digs | 3 aces
Kassy Doering – .727 attack percentage | 7 kills | 3 blocks
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After both teams traded points in the beginning of the first set, the Cougars distanced themselves with a 23-20 lead.
- The Mustangs closed the gap and took a 24-23 lead.
- CSUSM waved one set point off before receiving three opportunities to clinch the opening set. The third one was the charm as Vander Weide crushed a kill to record the first set win.
- The Cougars trailed 9-6 before sprinting off to a 25-19 victory in the second set.
- CSUSM dominated in the third set, recording a 25-13 win behind a .259 attacking percentage.
QUICK SETS
- The Cougars improve to 2-0 on the season while the Mustangs end the day at 1-1. .
- CSUSM tallied six aces to WNMU's two in the three sets.
- The Cougars held WNMU to a .092 hitting percentage, forcing the Mustangs to commit 20 errors on 109 attempts and only 30 kills.
- CSUSM registered only two hitting errors in the final set.
UP NEXT
The Cougars play only one game tomorrow, facing Bentley University in their highlighted match of the tournament. First serve is slated at 6 p.m.
