After a 1-1 start to the CSUSB Yotes Classic Showcase on Thursday, the Saint Martin’s volleyball team rallied back from a 2-1 set deficit to stun Vanguard Friday (17-25, 25-21, 14-25, 25-16, 15-4) and then was swept by Cal State San Bernardino Saturday (22-25, 16-25, 16-25).
The Saints took an early three-point lead in the first set against Vanguard at 9-6, and the Lions flipped the script with a 9-2 run to take their own four-point lead. Vanguard kept its foot on the gas pedal and prevailed 25-17.
Saint Martin’s once again had an early advantage in the second set, and following a 12-11 deficit, the Saints rattled off a 7-1 run fueled by kills from Emily Garten and Zoey Crimin. The Saints fended off the Lions and capitalized on attack errors with kills from Leila Quinn and Hanna Ligons sprinkled in.
Another strong start for Saint Martin’s didn’t last long in the third set, as an early 5-4 lead turned into a 19-7 burst from Vanguard to win 25-14. The Saints were hindered by seven attack errors in the third set.
A Crimin kill midway through the fourth set served as a spark to turn a two-point Saints lead into a six-point advantage at 19-13, with Garten adding a couple of kills in the 7-3 run. Saint Martin’s finished the set on a 6-1 sprint capped off by an ace by Sophie Fast to force a fifth set.
The final frame was all Saint Martin’s, which blew the game open with 11 unanswered points. The combination of Ligons and Olivia Bassett on the outside was unstoppable, but five of the final seven points of that run came via Garten aces. A service error by Vanguard resulted in the finishing touches to a comeback win by the Saints and a 15-4 fifth-set thrashing.
But against the 25th-ranked Cal State San Bernardino, the Saints ran out of gas. They battled in a tight first set that saw a whopping 16 ties and four lead changes. Neither team led by more than two points until Saint Martin’s scored four in a row to jump ahead 19-16, but the Coyotes closed the frame out with a 9-3 run.
The Saints watched an early burst slip away in the second set, and the margin grew increasingly larger in the opposite direction. CSUSB scored five in a row to finish the second set, and the Coyotes stayed hot to start the third with four straight.
CSUSB led wire to wire in the final frame and by as many as 10, ultimately pulling away 25-16.
Next up for Saint Martin’s (2-2) is a trip to Honolulu, Hawai’i, for the Hawai’i Challenge next week against Chaminade on Thursday, Sept. 3, Hawai’i Pacific on Friday, and Hawai’i Hilo and Emmanuel University on Saturday.
