SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Despite battling Cal State San Marcos in a closely-contested road match Friday, the Cal Poly Pomona volleyball team dropped a 3-1 result.
 
The Cougars took the first frame 25-20 before CPP tied the score with a 25-21 result in the second. CSUSM wrapped up its win with scores of 25-22 and 25-17 in the final two sets.
 
The Broncos' marks fall to 4-12 overall and 0-7 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) while the Cougars improve to 12-6 overall and 5-4 through league action.
 
Junior Deanna Blaine led the CPP offense on Friday with 10 kills and a .280 hitting percentage. Another third-year player, Alexandra Gresham, put together a stellar performance with nine kills and eight blocks. Freshman libero Amanda Jaramillo collected a team-high 20 digs to bolster the Broncos' defense. 

After trading the lead a few times early in the opening set, the two squads settled into an 11-11 score. CSUSM took a slight advantage and held it through the remainder of the frame, getting a service aces from Haley Montgomery to close out the 25-20 result.
 
The Cougars jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second set but Samantha Figueroa snapped the spurt with a kill from an Alina Smith assist. Figueroa provided another clutch kill late in the set while Desi Martin and Gresham contributed kills on the final two points of the frame, which CPP captured 25-21.
 
The Broncos took a 10-5 advantage early in the third but CSUSM bounced back to take that set 25-22. The momentum for the hosts continued into the fourth as the Cougars kept a sizeable lead before taking the 25-17 score to wrap up the 3-1 win.
 
CPP returns to action Saturday with a 7 p.m. road match at UC San Diego.