SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – The sixth-seed Cal State San Marcos volleyball team saw its 2021 campaign come to an end on Thursday night on the campus of Cal State San Bernardino. The Cougars fell in four close sets (20-25, 25-21, 19-25, 18-25) to third-seed San Francisco State in the quarterfinal round of the CCAA.
SF STATE 3 – CSUSM 1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18)
TOP PERFORMERS
Kassy Doering – 18 kills | .364 clip | 3 blocks
Kiora Ridgeway – 9 kills | .364 clip | 2 blocks
Kelsy Rasmussen – 16 kills | 6 digs | 2 blocks
Madison Turner – 45 assists | 10 digs | 2 aces
Grecia Cordero-Barr – 28 digs | 3 assists
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Cougars wasted no time, taking a quick 9-2 lead in the opening set to force a SF State timeout.
- The Gators charged back with a 10-3 run to take a 20-16 lead over the Cougars.
- SF State took the opening set at 25-20.
- Once again, the Cougars took an early lead at 8-4 capped by a Rasmussen cross-court kill through the block.
- A solo block by Doering gave CSUSM an 18-12 lead over the Gators.
- The Cougars sailed to a 25-21 second set win to even the match at 1-1.
- CSUSM hit .359 in the second set while accumulating three blocks.
- The Cougars went on a 5-0 run to go up 9-6 in the third set that finished with a Ridgeway kill to the right corner.
- Both teams traded points, keeping SF State's lead to no larger than three points, until the Gators went on a 7-4 run to take the third set at 25-19.
- The fourth set featured seven tie scores and four lead changes.
- At 10-10, the Cougars pulled away to take a 15-11 lead by taking advantage of SF State hitting and service errors.
- The Gators fought back, scoring ten unanswered points to claim the set at 25-18 and move on to the CCAA Tournament Semifinals.
QUICK HITS
- CSUSM ends its season at 12-13 while the Gators improve to 22-4 and will face second-seed Cal Poly Pomona at 5 p.m. on Friday
- Turner collected her 18th double-double of the season, finishing with 45 assists and 10 digs.
- Doering, who moved from middle blocker to the outside for the first time this season, matched her career high of 18 kills. Playing her final match in The Sports Center, Doering recorded 18 kills against Cal Poly Pomona on Nov. 6.
- Cordero-Barr registered a season-best 28 digs in the contest.
- CSUSM outblocked the Gators, 6-4.