Cal State San Marcos Athletics

SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos volleyball team (3-3) earned consecutive sweeps Friday at The Sports Center, defeating Minnesota Crookston (1-5) by scores of 25-17, 30-28 and 25-15 before dispatching Saint Michael's (1-4) by scores of 25-9, 25-14 and 25-21 on the second day of the Cougar Classic. CSUSM hit .325 over the six sets while holding its opponents to a combined .079 hitting percentage.

MATCH 1: CSUSM 3 – MINNESOTA CROOKSTON 0 (25-17, 30-28, 25-15)

TOP PERFORMERS
Addison Kranz – 18 kills | .455 hitting percentage | 3 digs | 1 block
Hazel Livingston-Jones – 9 kills | .533 hitting percentage | 5 blocks | 3 digs
Blayne Seligmiller – 9 kills | .400 hitting percentage | 4 blocks | 2 digs
Jules Tindall – 5 kills | .625 hitting percentage | 4 blocks
Blair Keith – 38 assists | 7 digs | 1 ace | 1 block
McKenna Kehoe – 12 digs | 1 assist

HOW IT HAPPENED

• CSUSM opened the match with leads of 4-1 and 8-4 before Minnesota Crookston pulled even at 11-all. The Cougars answered with three consecutive points and never trailed again. Holding a 19-17 advantage, CSUSM closed the set on a 6-0 run that included three Kranz kills and a Keith finish.
• Minnesota Crookston used a 6-0 run to take a 14-9 lead in the second set. CSUSM responded with an 8-3 surge to tie the score at 17-all and later took a 21-19 advantage. The Cougars fought off three set points before scoring the final three points to prevail 30-28.
• The Cougars raced out to an 8-1 lead in the third set and extended the advantage to 18-8. CSUSM hit .423 in the frame and completed the sweep with a 25-15 victory.

QUICK HITS

• CSUSM led in kills (50-33), assists (44-28), digs (50-32) and blocks (9-2).
• The Cougars hit a season-best .374 while holding the Golden Eagles to a .130 hitting percentage.
• CSUSM committed just 10 attack errors compared with Minnesota Crookston's 19.
• The Cougars hit .514 in the opening set and .423 in the third.
• CSUSM's 50 kills were its most in a three-set match this season.
• The victory marked the Cougars' first sweep of the season.
• This was the first meeting between CSUSM and Minnesota Crookston.

MATCH 2: CSUSM 3 – SAINT MICHAEL'S 0 (25-9, 25-14, 25-21)

TOP PERFORMERS
Hazel Livingston-Jones – 8 kills | .462 hitting percentage | 2 digs | 1 block
Addison Kranz – 8 kills | 1 dig
Jules Tindall – 5 kills | .500 hitting percentage | 2 aces | 1 block
Blair Keith – 26 assists | 9 digs | 2 blocks | 1 ace
Annika Blas-Cedeno – 8 digs | 4 aces | 2 assists
McKenna Kehoe – 9 digs | 6 assists | 1 ace

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Saint Michael's scored the first two points before CSUSM answered with six consecutive points, including a Blas-Cedeno ace and a Keith block. The Cougars later used an 8-0 run to extend a 10-6 lead to 18-6 and rolled to a 25-9 victory.
• With Saint Michael's leading 2-1 in the second set, CSUSM scored eight consecutive points behind Blas-Cedeno's serve to take a 9-2 advantage. Blas-Cedeno recorded three aces during the run as the Cougars hit .444 and cruised to a 25-14 win.
• CSUSM took an early 4-1 lead before the Purple Knights drew even at 6-all. The Cougars regained control with a 5-2 run that made it 13-8 and later built a 23-17 advantage. Saint Michael's pulled within three at 23-20, but an attack error and a Seligmiller kill secured the sweep.

QUICK HITS

• CSUSM led in kills (35-19), assists (34-14), aces (9-3), digs (37-34) and blocks (4-1).
• The Cougars hit .269 while limiting the Purple Knights to a season-low .012 opponent hitting percentage.
• CSUSM committed 10 attack errors compared with Saint Michael's 18.
• The Cougars hit .310 in the first set and .444 in the second.
• Blas-Cedeno's four aces were a match high.
• The last time CSUSM held an opponent to single digits in a set that went to 25 points was the third set on Sept. 10, 2022, at Cal Poly Humboldt (25-7) that resulted in a Cougar sweep. 
• The victory gave CSUSM its second consecutive sweep.
• This was the first meeting between CSUSM and Saint Michael's.

UP NEXT
CSUSM concludes the Cougar Classic against UC Merced at 5 p.m on Saturday, Sept. 5, at The Sports Center.