SAN BERNARDINO – In yet another historical moment, the Stanislaus State volleyball team defeated UC San Diego in the quarterfinal round of the CCAA Championship tournament as the Warriors extended their season after a thrilling 25-21, 25-19, 20-25, 25-22, victory at Coussoulis Arena Thursday afternoon.
The Warriors (14-14), making their second consecutive postseason appearance, recorded their first postseason victory in Stan State volleyball's Division II history. Stan State advances to the semifinal match against Chico State, North Division winner, Friday at 5 p.m. Chico State swept Cal State Dominguez Hills Thursday afternoon.
Stanislaus State is on a hot-streak as the Warriors have won four straight matches — and five of their last six — including two wins over UC San Diego in 12 days.
Entering Thursday's match, the Warriors had posted 3-0 wins in all 13 of their victories this season. Now, they've shown that they can in four sets, too. After taking the first two sets, Stanislaus saw UC San Diego rally to hold off the sweep. In set No. 4, teams tied as late as 22-22, but the Warriors rolled off three straight points starting with a
Taylor Massengale kill.
Daryan Heathcott got the Warriors' 24th point and Massengale ended the match with a service ace.
It was an aggressive match for the Warriors middle blockers Massengale and Heathcott as they led the Warriors in the front row. Massengale found a great time to post a season-high with 18 kills while Heathcott spiked 14 for her Warrior-career best. Both middles had an effective match on the attack with Massengale hitting .351 and Heathcott .370.
Both of Stan State's outside hitters also reached double digit kills.
Jocelyn Cervantes had 12 kills and
Blair Ehrlich put-away 10.
Ehlrich led the Warriors in the back row with a whopping 26 digs. Libero
Hailey Gruetzmacher added 20 digs,
Maddi Seidl dug 15, and Cervantes had 10 digs.
The Tritons were led by Meagan Wright with 14 kills. Jessica Beksa added 10 more kills for UC San Diego. Libero Lindsey Chun led the Tritons defense with 19 digs. Amanda Colla added 16 digs, and Wright dug 12.
