The women’s volleyball team has been on a traveling spree in its first weeks of conference.
The Broncos defeated the Tritons from UC San Diego 3-0 on Friday night in La Jolla, San Diego.
Not only was the RIMAC Arena packed with 800 people and ready for a vigorous match, but the viewers watching on ESPN were also ready.
The Tritons battled their way through the set but fell short. It was the Broncos who dominated the first set and ended off with a win, 25-21.
The Tritons struggled with eight attack errors and the Broncos only had two.
The numerous unforced errors from the Tritons became pivotal for the opposing team. The Broncos took full advantage and ended up setting the tone for the rest of the game.
After winning the first set, the Broncos wanted to keep their winning streak. The Tritons struggled once again with attack errors, with a total of eight and the Broncos with only four.
The Broncos rallied through and won the second set with the ending score of 25-23. The Broncos cut it close and they didn’t want to let that happen again.
Both teams took on the third set at full speed and fought through, but it was the Broncos who took the big win.
The Broncos had five aces, which made it the highest number of aces in a set throughout the night. The set went to 29-27, and left the Broncos with a sweep and defeated the Tritons on their home court.
“Our biggest strength as a team was our determination and drive,” freshman middle blocker Kaitlin Tucker said. “We never gave up no matter what the score was. You could just feel that drive to win.”
(Courtesy of CPP Athletics Department)
With outstanding numbers on the Bronco leaderboard, junior middle blocker Ally Wilder had a total of 10 kills and freshman opposite-side hitter Daisy Duke trailed behind her with nine kills.
Both Wilder and Duke tied with a total of 10 points on Friday’s game. Sophomore setter Kira Zimmerman shined once again with 32 assists.
Freshman defensive specialist/setter Diane Zhao’s two aces became crucial and helped the Broncos come out with a win. Overall, the Broncos traveled to win and took the victory 3-0.
“I thought our serving and passing was much better. We worked on our serve and pass game. That particular portion was much better, which determined us to be better,” head coach Traci Dahl said. “As the match unfolded, our serving just got tougher and our passing just got a lot more consistent. And also, our team communication was better. Everybody was very engaged in the whole entire match, which helps. There wasn’t a one time when I thought we weren’t in control.”
She also said they were down by 4-13 and 8-16 at one point and “to come back from that definitely showed a lot of heart and determination.”
Being on the road for so long can be a disadvantage, but not for the Broncos.
“This was a huge win for our team; UCSD was extremely strong competition and pushed us in many errors,” Duke said. “Winning the game last night in three (sets) and coming back from such a big deficit showed us that no matter what, we can always fight back.”
On Saturday, the Broncos faced the Cal State San Marcos Cougars, falling 0-3.
Wilder ended the night with eight kills and one block. Duke finished with six kills and three blocks.
The Broncos’ hitting percentage for the match was .132, compared to the Cougars’ .306.
The Broncos’ overall record is now 4-7 and their conference record stands at 2-2. This week, the Broncos will return to Kellogg Stadium for three matches. The first match will be at 7 p.m. on Tuesday against Cal State San Bernardino, followed by a 7 p.m. on Friday against Cal State Los Angeles.
The Broncos will finish the week with at 7 p.m. game on Saturday against Cal State Dominguez Hills.
