The No. 17 Tritons stepped up their game last week, using their home-court advantage to notch two wins over Cal State Stanislaus on Oct. 28 and Chico State on Oct. 29.
UCSD (18-5 overall, 10-4 California Collegiate Athletic Association) cruised by the Warriors in straight sets, but needed four sets for the win over the Wildcats.
“The saying for this week was MEP or ‘make ‘em play,’” said junior Nicole Courtney, who was the star player against Stanislaus with 27 kills, 15 digs and a .364 hitting percentage. “We wanted to keep the pressure on them and focus on minimizing our errors instead of swinging blindly.”
The Tritons started off sluggish in the first game against Chico State and didn’t wake up until the final minutes when they scored seven of the last 10 points to win game one by a score of 30-22. In game two, the closest of the afternoon, the Tritons barely hung on after pulling ahead, thanks to senior Laura Watkins’ ace to close out the game, giving UCSD a 33-31 win.
Game three mirrored game two, with both teams breathing down each other’s necks until the last points. At 13-13, UCSD scored three points on consecutive Wildcat errors, before falling right back to an 18-18 tie, which was broken by the combined forces of Courtney and junior Brianna Koche. The duo carried UCSD to a 24-19 and ultimately the 30-22 win, capped off by freshman Rebecca Bailey’s game-ending kill.
“Passing is really effective,” Koche said. “By nailing the ball right at our target it allows us to run lots of quick sets.”
The Tritons didn’t just rely on passing for the win, according to Courtney.
“Our all-around play contributes to our wins,” she said. “We have to be sharp in every area.”
The Tritons completed the victory in the fourth game, finishing off the Wildcats 30-22.
“We need to maintain the same aggression and minimize our errors,” head coach Tom Black said. “Nicole Courtney was huge tonight and Rebecca Bailey gets better every time, but I’m waiting for all six to play really good at the same time. We’re in the home stretch here so hopefully we’ll get to see it.”
The girls have two more home games this week to show what they’re made of. On Nov. 2, they will face Cal State Bakersfield, while Nov. 4 has them pitted against Cal State Los Angeles.
UCSD freshman Kim Carpenter said she hopes for lots of support from fans.
“I’m really pumped for the CSULA game,” she said. “We lost to them last time, so it’s payback.”
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