Box Score EL CAJON, Calif.—Erin Talafus led the Cougars with 16 kills and 8 blocks as the No. 25 Cal State San Marcos volleyball team picked up their 20th victory Wednesday night with an exciting five-set win over San Diego Christian 25-21, 25-17, 23-25, 18-25, 20-18.

"It was a total team win where everyone contributed." said CSUSM head coach Andrea Leonard. "Erin was amazing throughout and we came together when we needed to in the end."

The Cougars appeared to be in control early on, winning the first two sets without a major scare, and were just two points away from closing out the match after one of Talafus' blocks tied the game at 23 all in the third set. However, the Hawks responded with a pair of kills to force a fourth set— a set in which the Cougars fell behind quickly and never recovered.

In the winner-take-all fifth set, CSUSM reasserted itself by jumping out to an 11-6 lead, needing just four points to head up the I-15 freeway as victors. The Hawks did not relent, however, despite an Alyssa Foster kill that gave the Cougars match point at 15-14.

In fact, the Hawks put CSUSM on the brink with three match points of their own, putting the Cougars on the verge of falling to 0-4 in five set matches this season. Unfazed, Cal State San Marcos came up with clutch points with the game on the line each time, including a kill by freshman Markisha Henderson-Diaz that tied the score at 18 apiece—her fourth kill of the short set and seventh of the match.

Fellow freshman Rachel Hadley coolly shut the door on the Hawks with back-to-back kills to win the match, setting her new career high of 15 while giving the Cougars their seventh win in their past eight games.

Not to be lost in the thrilling ending was the outstanding play of middle hitter Erin Talafus, who was the main story for the majority of the match. Talafus finished with a career best 16 kills and eight blocks— the second best in school history and just two shy of her own school record. The junior from San Clemente hit. 467 on the match to keep the Cougars afloat while the remainder of the team hit just .156 overall.  

Foster, the returning A.I.I. setter of the year, was exceptional for CSUSM as well, nearly tallying a triple-double with seven kills (.545 hitting percentage), 51 assists, and 14 digs. Libero Kelli McLin ended the evening just one dig short of her career best, recording 26 digs in a strong effort.

CSUSM improves to 20-8 on the season, while San Diego Christian falls to 4-14. The Cougars have Thursday off before returning to action Friday in a home contest against West Coast Baptist at 7:00pm.