NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The UC Santa Cruz women's volleyball team fell to Christopher Newport 3-1 (18-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-21) in the C2C Conference Tournament Semifinal on Friday afternoon in Virginia.
Kelly Ann Greene and
Ashley Magley led the team with 10 kills each while
Margo Melgoza dished out 34 assists.
Olly Gordon ended the night with seven total blocks while
Anna Hospodar anchored the back line with 21 digs. UC Santa Cruz will be back in action tomorrow at 9:00 am Pacific Time as they take on University of Mary Washington in the C2C Third Round contest.
How It Happened
The Slugs came out swinging, jumping out to an early 4-0 lead before running to 9-2 with kills from
Olly Gordon,
Kate Lau, and
Ashley Magley. UCSC continued to surge forward, forcing a CNU timeout at 16-7 after an
Abigail Lee service ace followed by a block from Lau and Gordon. UC Santa Cruz worked to a 20-11 lead before the Captains took three straight to force UCSC to pause the momentum with a timeout. CNU continued to climb back, cutting the lead to 21-17 but UCSC outscored CNU 4-1 down the stretch with kills from
Heidi Collins,
Olly Gordon, and
Ashley Magley to take set one 25-18.
CNU took the first three points in set two, but UCSC responded with a 6-2 run to take the lead at 6-4. The game was back and forth temporarily with CNU eventually working to a 16-12 lead to force a Slugs timeout. UCSC countered, cutting the lead to 17-16 and later 18-17 but CNU closed out the set on a 7-0 run to win 25-17. UCSC struggled to get the offense going in set four as CNU worked to an 11-8 lead before using an 8-0 run to take a 19-8 lead. The Captains went on to take set three 25-15.
CNU continued to pressure forward as they took a 4-1 lead early in set four before extending it to 10-7. UCSC managed to fight back, working to a 12-12 tie and later a 17-17 tie. The set was back and forth towards the end with the Slugs taking a 20-18 lead to force a CNU timeout. Out of the break, CNU went on a 7-1 run to take the set 25-21 to defeat the Slugs 3-1.
