SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Junior Sarai Ross recorded 18 kills on .500 hitting as #10 California State University San Bernardino women's volleyball earned a 3-1 victory over #20 Point Loma on Wednesday evening at Kim Cherniss Court at Coussoulis Arena. Set scores were 26-24, 27-25, 18-25 and 25-21.
With the non-conference victory, the Coyotes improved to 14-2 overall while remaining 5-1 in CCAA play.
CSUSB led throughout the opening set and built an 11-6 advantage before Point Loma worked back to tie the score at 15-15. The Coyotes later led 23-20, but the Sea Lions scored three straight points and eventually pulled even again at 24-24. Senior Kacie Pedersen answered with a kill before Ross ended the set, 26-24.
CSUSB hit .317 in the opener with 16 kills and three errors. Ross, Pedersen, and senior Allison Legates each had four kills, while senior M'Kera Drake added three kills on five attempts.
The Coyotes erased their largest deficit of the match in the second set. Point Loma used an 8-3 run to take an 18-13 lead, but CSUSB answered with eight of the next 10 points. Junior Kisa Sagiao had two kills during the rally, while Legates added a kill and combined with Sagiao for a block that tied the set at 20-20.
After the teams traded points through 25-25, Pedersen put CSUSB ahead with her fourth kill of the set. Drake and freshman Lilly Hartman followed with a block to give the Coyotes a 27-25 win. CSUSB totaled 19 kills in the set, led by Ross with five and Pedersen and Sagiao with four apiece.
Point Loma extended an early 6-0 run into a 14-7 advantage in the third set and hit .432 with 18 kills to force a fourth. CSUSB scored five straight points late in the set, including kills by Legates and Ross and a sophomore Saniyah Sobers service ace, before the Sea Lions closed the set at 25-18.
The fourth set featured nine ties before the Coyotes broke a 10-10 deadlock with a 5-0 run. Sobers served four straight points during the stretch, which included two Ross kills, a Hartman kill, and a service ace.
Point Loma cut the margin to 20-19, but Pedersen stopped the run with a kill. Drake and Hartman later combined for a block before Ross delivered her sixth kill of the set to give CSUSB match point. The Coyotes hit .433 in the final set with 15 kills and two errors on 30 attempts.
CSUSB finished with 62 kills and 13 attack errors for a .299 hitting percentage. The Coyotes also held an 8-7 advantage in total blocks and finished with 83 digs.
Ross added six digs to her team-high 18 kills. Legates recorded 12 kills without an error on 24 attempts and contributed four total blocks. Pedersen finished with 10 kills, 17 digs, and two service aces, while Sobers had a team-high 20 digs and two aces. Junior McKenna Edwards totaled 34 assists and 10 digs, and junior Jaiden Van Horn added 18 assists and 10 digs.
The Coyotes return to CCAA play Friday against Cal State Monterey Bay. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Kim Cherniss Court at Coussoulis Arena.
