SAN MARCOS, Calif. – To kickoff the PLNU/CSUSM Seaside Invite, the Cal State San Marcos volleyball team (0-1) dropped a four-set decision (14-25, 25-23, 20-25, 18-25) to Simon Fraser (1-0) on Thursday night in its season opener in The Sports Center.
 
CSUSM 1 – SFU 3 (14-25, 25-23, 20-25, 18-25)
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Addison Kranz – 16 kills | 7 digs | 1 ace
Alyssa Gurrola – 8 blocks | 3 kills
Isabelle Bakken – 4 kills | 5 blocks | 2 aces

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The opening set was close until the Red Leafs scored nine unanswered to take a 17-6 lead before cruising to a 25-14 victory.
• The second set was a nail biter as both teams took turns taking the lead with CSUSM going up 17-14 on a Galvan ace. SFU charged back to even the set at 23-all before the Cougars clinched it on a Red Leaf missed serve and a Kranz ace at 25-23.
• The third set consisted of seven tie scores and three lead changes, all occurring before reaching double digits. A 12-4 run gave the Red Leafs a 19-11 advantage. The Cougars waved off two set points before falling 25-20 to give SFU a 2-1 lead in the match.
• The Cougars trailed the entire fourth set, evening the set at 12-all on a Gurrola kill before SFU put the match at with a 25-18 fourth-set victory.

QUICK HITS

• The Cougars fall to 0-1 on the year while the Red Leafs move to 1-0.
• This was the first meeting between these two teams in The Sports Center. The previous two meetings occurred on a neutral court with the Red Leafs clinching both wins.
• Both teams tallied 13 blocks apiece with the Cougars tallying six solo blocks to SFU's three.

 
UP NEXT
The Cougars will next face Vanguard at 4 p.m. in The Sports Center on Friday.