Riverside, Calif. - The Golden Eagles women's volleyball team made it five wins in a row with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-19) victory over the first place Bobcats from the University of California – Merced. The win vaulted La Sierra into sole possession of second place in the conference standings just one game behind Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Despite being tied with the Bobcats at 3-2 in conference play (10-7 overall), the Golden Eagles now hold the tie breaker against Merced after defeating the Bobcats in both meeting thus far this season.
La Sierra dominated play in Set 1 by defeating the Bobcats 25-15. The second set was a much tighter contest, until the Golden Eagles went on a late run to take a 24-19 late in the set. But the Bobcats weren't about to go away without a fight. Merced fought off four straight set points to cut the lead to 24-23, but that would be as close as they would get, as the Golden Eagles hung on for the 25-23 win.
With both teams having the memory of their recent five-set match fresh in their minds, the Golden Eagles knew that they could not let down and the Bobcats were looking to draw on that experience as motivation to keep fighting. But La Sierra wasn't about to take any chances as they cruised to a straight set victory with a 25-19 win, in Set 3.
Caitlin Marinos led the team with 14 kills and 12 digs. Erin Miller added 11 kills, with no errors on 21 total attempts, for a hitting percentage of .524. The current Cal Pac Attacker of the Week, Samantha Marquez pitched in with eight kills on the night.
Smriti Sharma finished with 18 assists and seven digs, while fellow setter Marissa Fregoso added 17 assists and five digs.
As a team, the Golden Eagles tallied 11 service aces, led by Taylor Moran who had six service aces.
The team will now look to make it six in a row, this Saturday night, when they travel to Providence Christian College. The match is a re-scheduled match that was originally scheduled for September 19. The Golden Eagles defeated the Sea Beggars 3-1 earlier this week, in their first meeting this season. In what will be a quick turnaround for La Sierra they will return home to face the University of Antelope Valley, on Sunday morning, at 11am.
