CARSON – The Cal State Dominguez Hills volleyball team returned home for the first time in a month, only to have the homecoming spoiled by UC San Diego Tuesday. After an intense first-set battle, the Toros couldn't find any kind of momentum and was swept (20-25, 13-25, 16-25) by the Tritons in California Collegiate Athletic Association play.
 
Taylor Benitez-Fanslow hit 28.6 percent on the attack with a dozen kills and five digs, Jordan Ramirez dished out 13 assists while Kalani Patrick had seven.
 
The offense was nearly quiet for the Toros (7-3, 0-3 CCAA). As a team, they hit .096 despite reaching nearly 26 percent in the first set.
 
Gina Cortesi appeared to be unstoppable for the Tritons (9-4, 3-2 CCAA), as she hit 56 percent with 17 kills and nine digs. UC San Diego ended up compiling a .314 on the attack.
 
The first set was Dominguez Hills' best performance. Trailing by three, the Toros went on to win 7-of-8 rallies to take a 13-11 lead. The game remained close until the Tritons went on a 7-1 run that eventually led to a set win.
 
UC San Diego would jump out with leads in the next two games and held on en route to the match win.
 
The Toros will stay in Southern California this weekend but will be facing the ultimate challenge at top-ranked Cal State San Bernardino Friday and Cal Poly Pomona Saturday. Both are 7 p.m. starts.