TURLOCK – At its last home game of the season, Stanislaus State volleyball team swept UC San Diego in a thrilling upset at Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena during Senior night on Saturday.
The Warriors, now 11-14, 8-8 CCAA, played amazingly both offensively and defensively to dominate the Tritons (12-12, 9-7 CCAA) in three quick sets, 25-21, 25-17, 25-16. Stanislaus State beat UC San Diego for the first time since Sept., 2010, snapping an 11-match losing streak.
Senior Blair Ehlrich had an outstanding final home match with 22 kills, 12 of which were scored in the first set. Ehlrich's hot hitting resulted in a new season-high, which was formerly 21 kills, set on Sept. 10 against Western Oregon. She also played her part in the back row with 15 digs. Ehrlich, who is now third on the Stan State career list in kills with 1,267, wrapped up a solid weekend with 42 total kills. She had 20 Friday against Cal State San Marcos.
Libero
Hailey Gruetzmacher led the inspiring defense with 19 digs, matching her season-high set on Sept. 30 against Cal State San Bernardino.
Jocelyn Cervantes and
Maddi Seidl each added 11 digs each to the Warriors dominating defense. Seidl also had a successful setting night with 40 assists for her team.
The Warriors dominated the Tritons in all aspects of the game. Stan State tallied 52 total kills to the Tritons 30, the Warriors dug 78 balls to the Tritons' 48, and Stan State had 49 assists to the Tritons 29 assists.
Collectively Stanislaus hit .304 on the attack, led by Daryan Heathcott's .467.
Leading the Tritons offense was outside hitter Meagan Wright with 12 kills. Setter Kayla Evans had 19 assists, and libero Lindsey Chun led the Tritons back row with 10 digs.
The Tritons kept the score close in set one with long rallies and quick side outs. But behind Ehrlich's hot start, the Warriors pulled into the lead 19-16, keeping a three-point lead on the Tritons until the set's end. Similar to set one, game two remained neck and neck until the Warriors took an 18-13 lead on the Tritons and finished the set with an eight-point margin. The Warriors fell behind in set three before tying up the game 8-8, and pulling ahead to ultimately win by nine points.
The Warriors are on the road for the final week of regular season play, after which the Warriors may have a chance to travel to Cal State San Bernardino to participate in the CCAA conference championship tournament. Stan State is currently tied for third place in the North Division with Cal State East Bay. The top four teams in each division qualifies for the tournament.
