Box Score | POMONA, Calif. – With Cal Poly Pomona trailing nationally-ranked UC San Diego 2-0 on Thursday night, the Broncos' student crowd didn't grow quiet. It only got louder.

The CPP volleyball squad returned from the break and with plenty of support from the fans, the Broncos rallied to tie the match 2-2 with epic 26-24 and 30-28 victories in the third and fourth sets.

The visiting Tritons squad, ranked No. 12 in the latest Division II Top 25 poll, responded with a 15-7 win in the fifth and final frame though to take the match by a score of 3-2.

The valiant effort should certainly remain a positive for CPP, a squad that encountered a tough road trip through Hayward and Seaside last weekend.

The Broncos hold marks of 3-10 overall and 1-4 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) while UCSD improves to 12-2 overall and 4-2 through league action.

Senior outside hitter Jessica Doerner led the CPP offense on Thursday, racking up a season-high 20 kills to go along with four block assists. She committed just three attack errors as she got plenty of help from Nicoletta Stork, who collected 39 assists in the match.

Sophomore Christen Williams starred defensively for the Broncos as she picked up a career-high eight block assists. Four CPP players tallied double-digit dig totals with Stork, Zoe Herrera, Samantha Cramer and Erin Noriega making up that group.

Senior setter Katie Colin also played well down the stretch for the Broncos. She tallied seven assists to go along with three kills during key CPP rallies.

After falling behind 2-0 in sets, the Broncos actually ended up in a 7-2 deficit early in what could have been the third and final frame. As part of a modest 4-0 run that followed at that point, Williams played a role in three blocks in that stretch to reverse the momentum in favor of CPP.

A block from Williams and Doerner later in the set put the Broncos ahead 23-20. The Tritons bounced back with a 4-0 run to land on match point. With an assist from Colin, Brianna Thierjung provided a clutch kill for CPP and tied the score at 24-24. From there, Doerner lined in back-to-back kills to extend the match into the fourth frame.

The next set featured plenty of long runs for both teams, including a 9-0 stretch for the hosts that turned a 6-4 deficit into a 13-6 lead. Stork served during that run and Doerner delivered four kills.

UCSD slowly chipped away at the margin and despite the Broncos leading 24-20 at one point, the Tritons rattled off a 5-0 run to secure another match point. This initiated a tremendous back-and-forth between the two teams as both squads ended up getting two more set points apiece before Alexa Hasen notched a kill to give CPP a thrilling 30-28 result in the fourth.

The Tritons managed to steal all of the momentum away in the fifth though as UCSD jumped out to a 9-2 lead and cruised to a 15-7 result. The Broncos will now shift their focus to another nationally-ranked team, the Coyotes of Cal State San Bernardino that'll visit Kellogg Gym Saturday for a 7 p.m. match.