Cal State San Marcos turned one tied set, one late scare and one early deficit into the same outcome Saturday: a win. The Cougars swept Cal Poly Humboldt 25-18, 25-22, 25-14 at the Sports Center for their third consecutive victory, with Addison Kranz producing a match-high 17 kills.
The first set was level at nine when CSUSM scored five straight. Annika Blas-Cedeno served three aces during the run, pushing the Cougars ahead 14-9. The Lumberjacks never recovered the gap, and CSUSM closed the opener by seven. Early service pressure had turned an even set into control.
Set two reversed the order. The Cougars scored the first four points and stretched the lead to 10-3. Humboldt gradually removed it, reaching 23-22. Kranz and Blayne Seligmiller then delivered consecutive kills, ending the set before the comeback could force extra points.
The third required the largest response. Humboldt led 8-3 before CSUSM assembled a 9-1 run for a 12-9 advantage. Later, the Cougars won 11 of 12 points to reach match point at 24-11. They finished 25-14 while hitting .367 with 15 kills in the set.
CSUSM led 43-25 in kills, 41-24 in assists, 9-3 in aces and 48-36 in digs. The Cougars hit .243 and held the Lumberjacks to .121. Humboldt won the blocking category 6-5, but that advantage could not offset an 18-kill deficit and six fewer service aces.
Blair Keith distributed 33 assists and added three kills. Hazel Livingston-Jones recorded eight kills on .467 hitting with three blocks. Kassie Cooley hit .571 on four kills and joined her with three blocks. Blas-Cedeno and McKenna Kehoe each collected 16 digs, accounting for two-thirds of the team total.
Kranz's 17 kills nearly matched Humboldt's deficit in the team category. She also provided the first half of the two-kill finish in set two, when the Lumberjacks were closest to extending the match. Livingston-Jones supplied the more efficient middle option, while Keith's 33 assists represented more than three-quarters of CSUSM's 41. The offense had a primary route without becoming a single-player system.
Service pressure created another separation. Blas-Cedeno finished with four aces, including three in the first-set run, and Eleanor Brislen added two. Humboldt managed three as a team. Aces are direct points, but the larger effect can be a poor first contact that narrows the next attack. The .121 opponent hitting percentage reflects errors and defended swings as well as clean blocks.
The victory was CSUSM's fifth sweep of the season and second in succession. It also extended the program's winning streak over Cal Poly Humboldt to 13 matches, improving the all-time series mark to 13-2. The current result moved the Cougars to 7-8 overall and 3-3 in CCAA play.
Menlo visits Friday for the fifth match of a six-match homestand. Saturday offered three different closing tests: hold an earned lead, stop an opponent one point away from a tie, and erase a five-point deficit. CSUSM solved each before a fourth set was necessary. The next step is carrying that flexibility beyond the current three-match run.