POMONA, Calif. - #23 California State University San Bernardino women's volleyball opened the Bronco Classic with a lopsided 3-0 victory over #24 Western Washington University on Thursday afternoon at Kellogg Arena. Set scores were 25-13, 25-11, and 25-15.
With the victory, the Coyotes improve to 5-0 on the season.
The teams were tied at 3-3 in the opening set before CSUSB scored three straight points behind two service aces from junior McKenna Edwards and a kill from senior M'Kera Drake. The Coyotes later used a 6-0 run to extend their advantage to 17-6, with junior Jaiden Van Horn serving the final five points of the stretch. Senior Allison Legates recorded three kills during the run, while senior Kacie Pedersen and junior Sarai Ross added one apiece.
CSUSB hit .433 in the first set with 17 kills and four errors on 30 attempts. Legates led the Coyotes with five kills on five swings, while Pedersen and Ross each added four.
The Coyotes broke open the second set with a 5-0 run that turned a 5-5 tie into a 10-5 lead. Western Washington later cut the margin to two at 12-10, but CSUSB closed the set on a 13-1 run, including the final 10 points on sophomore libero Saniyah Sobers' serve. Pedersen recorded three consecutive kills to finish the 25-11 victory.
CSUSB held Western Washington to six kills and eight errors for a -.051 hitting percentage in the second set. The Coyotes hit .323 with 12 kills and received three kills apiece from Ross and junior Kisa Sagiao.
Western Washington held a 9-8 lead in the third set before CSUSB responded with five straight points. Pedersen recorded two kills during the run, while Drake added two of her own. Leading 16-11, the Coyotes added another 5-0 run behind Van Horn's serve to extend the margin to 21-11. CSUSB finished the set with 18 kills and a .389 hitting percentage in the 25-15 win.
The Coyotes recorded 47 kills and only 10 attack errors on 97 attempts for a .381 hitting percentage. CSUSB hit above .320 in all three sets and held Western Washington to 20 kills and a .099 hitting percentage.
Pedersen led all players with 13 kills on .333 hitting and added a match-high 11 digs. Ross finished with 10 kills and three service aces, while Sagiao recorded seven kills on .312 hitting. Legates had six kills without an error on seven attempts for an .857 hitting percentage, and Drake converted all five of her attempts for five kills.
Van Horn finished with 23 assists and nine digs, while Edwards added 10 assists, seven digs, and two service aces.
The Yotes will continue play at the Bronco Classic on Friday when they face Simon Fraser University at noon inside Kellogg Arena.
