LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego continued its dominance over Humboldt State volleyball Saturday night. Tied after two sets, the Tritons scored the final three points of the third set and held off the Lumberjacks in the fourth set to record a 3-1 victory (20-25, 25-18, 30-28 and 25-20).
HSU came out strong to build a five-point first set lead and won by the same margin (25-20). UC San Diego led the entire second set, before it fought off four set points to pull out the long 30-28 third set. In the fourth set, HSU rallied to within two points late, but came up short (25-20) to end the match.
The Jacks (13-7 California Collegiate Athletic Association) fell to 16-8 overall and ended its three-match road trip with one victory. The Tritons (13-11/11-9 CCAA) made it a perfect 18-0 all-time against the North Coast team and completed the sweep of the season series.
"We underperformed tonight and we're very disappointed to end our road trip with this loss," said HSU Head Coach
Kelly Wood.
HSU's NCAA West Region playoff hopes took a hit with the Saturday loss. The Jacks entered the week No. 8 in the region, but went 1-2 in three matches. For a breakdown of the HSU playoff competitors, check the end of the game story.
"This loss doesn't help our chances for postseason, but getting to regionals is still a possibility if we can secure third place in the CCAA," said Wood. "In order to do this, we will have to win our final two home matches, which we feel like we are more than capable of doing. It's looking like our season could very well come down to our final match."
HSU hosts Cal State Dominguez Hills on Thursday night, Nov. 13, before it welcomes Cal State Los Angeles to Lumberjack Arena on Saturday night, Nov. 15 to end the season. Both matches start at 7 p.m.
The Jacks hitters had a tough night against the Tritons' front row defense. HSU finished with a .112 hitting percentage and committed 34 attack errors against UC San Diego's 13 team blocks.
Symone Hayden led the visitors with 12 kills.
Ashley Owen contributed 10 kills and three block assists.
Kaitlyn Dunaway and Kat Rifilato downed nine kills apiece. Dunaway added 14 digs and an ace, while Rifilato handed out 23 assists and dug eight balls.
Nicole Bewley and
Alex Hasenstab combined for 15 kills and 10 total blocks.
Erin Mitchell dished out 27 assists and
Haley Biles recorded 20 digs on defense.
Kelci Renshaw, who had 11 digs, and
Colleen Noonan each served an ace.
The Jacks put the night's first four points on the scoreboard and never trailed in the opening set. HSU built a 15-10 lead midway through the set and extended it to six, 19-13, on a Hasenstab kill. A Rifilato kill and Owen's back-to-back kills finished the set for a 25-20 win.
UC San Diego led wire-to-wire in the second set. Leading 14-13, the Tritons scored the next four to make it 18-13 off a tandem block. The home club tied the match at a set with the 25-18 final.
The momentum-swinging set followed. Each team led by as many as five points until the Tritons held a 24-22 set point. HSU rallied for the next three points on three kills in a row for its own set point, 25-24. UC San Diego fought off three-straight set points, before it scored three consecutive points for a 30-28 win.
In the fourth set, the Jacks led early by 6-4 and 7-5 margins. Behind 8-7, the Tritons netted the next five of six points and opened a 13-9 advantage. UC San Diego never gave up the lead to win the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-1.
West Region Breakdown (with current season records) - Northwest Nazarene 23-2
- Alaska Anchorage 20-4
- BYU-Hawaii 19-5
- Western Washington 19-6
- Central Washington 19-6
- Sonoma State 19-5
- Cal State San Bernardino 18-6
- Humboldt State 16-8
- Dixie State 18-8
- Point Loma Nazarene 18-9
Others in the mix: Cal State Los Angeles 16-7; Cal Poly Pomona 14-9; Simon Fraser 16-8
*The top six region teams hold strong positions for one of the eight playoff spots
*Cal State San Bernardino should hold on for one of the final two spots with at least one win of its two matches next week.
*HSU hosts CSU Dominguez Hills and Cal State Los Angeles to end the regular season next week. Jacks will need wins in both matches to stay in the running for the 8
th region playoff spot and clinch 3
rd place in the CCAA.
*Dixie State has one match remaining against Fresno Pacific (19-7), which is ineligible for the regional playoffs, next Saturday. Dixie State could make a case with a win of that match for the final spot
*Point Loma Nazarene finishes its season at Azusa Pacific (13-14) next Saturday. It can also make a case for the final spot with a win.
*Cal State Los Angeles will have a tough week when it plays at both Cal State San Bernardino Thursday and HSU Saturday night. The Golden Eagles would need to win both matches and jump over both Dixie State and Point Loma.
*Cal Poly Pomona plays at Cal State Monterey Bay (8-16) and Cal State East Bay (9-16) next week. The Broncos would need to sweep and get some help. CPP swept CSU San Bernardino, but it was swept by HSU in the regular season.
*Simon Fraser finishes its season at No. 2 Alaska Anchorage and at Alaska Fairbanks next week.
-GoJacks-
