Volleyball Winless at Seaside Tournament to Open 2014

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

SAN DIEGO -- Junior outside hitter Alijah Gunsaulus paced the Cal State Dominguez Hills volleyball team with 30 kills on the day, but the Toros dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker to Azusa Pacific after being swept by Saginaw Valley State to open the Seaside Tournament, hosted by Point Loma University.

SVSU capitalized on 27 Toro attack errors to take a 26-24, 25-16, 25-14 win in the first match, while APU fought back for a 25-20, 21-25, 22-25, 23-25, 15-11 comeback win in the day's nightcap to drop CSUDH to 0-2 on the year.

Against APU, the Toros and Cougars stayed close to the other, with no team taking more than a 2 point lead until APU broke an 11-11 tie with six-straight points to seize control of the opening set.

CSUDH got as close as three points at 20-17 until the Cougars scored five of the final eight points to take the first set 25-20.

Set two was more of the same, with the teams tied at 17-17. This time, it was the Toros' turn to go in front as a five-point run brought momentum to CSUDH, where a Bridget Heins putaway on the second set point evened the match at 1-1.

The Toros used that momentum in set three in taking a 12-6 lead on a Heins hammer and Cougar error, a lead CSUDH held through the set en route to a 25-22 win, courtesy of a Taryn McCullouch blast.

APU regrouped in set four, turning a 17-14 deficit into a 24-22 edge that resulted in a 25-23 Cougar win to send it to the deciding fifth.

The final set saw the Toros roar to a 10-5 lead on a Claire Autry putaway, only to have the Cougars have the final say with a 10-6 run to close the set, scoring nine-straight points to take control of the set for good.

Gunsaulus finished with 20 kills and just four errors, good for a .327 hitting percentage. Heins and Autry each chipped in with 11 kills while Korryne Kelley paced the defense with a match-high 22 digs, with Gunsaulus adding 14 digs and Dana Brown 11 to go along with her 53 assists.

In the opener, the Toros roared back from a 10-7 deficit early to take a 19-15 lead on a SVSU attack error, but the Cardinals caught the Toros at 19-19, with the two teams tying four more times until SVSU claimed the final three points of the set to take the 26-24 thriller.

That seemed to deflate the Toros as the Cardinals led wire-to-wire over the next two sets to claim the match, including scoring set three's first eight points in the 25-14 finale.

CSUDH was held to a negative hitting percentage and was out service aced (7 to 2) and out-blocked (9.0 to 3.0) in the loss.

The Toros will look for their first win of the year tomorrow morning as CSUDH takes on Fresno Pacific in a 9 am match.

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Volleyball Winless at Seaside Tournament to Open 2014