The Lady Tritons of the Gold team took a winding, beautiful road trip up to Santa Barbara on a sunny weekend to play volleyball where the beach and mountains meet. Filled with excitement, this is their most challenging tourney yet as they face UCLA B, Cal State Channel Islands, UCSB B, and USC B, respectively. With a long day of games ahead of them on Saturday, the ladies brought positive spirits and energy into their tournament.

Their morning match against the Bruins started slowly, like a stalling car barely waking up. After a rough first set, the engine roared back to life as the Tritons regrouped and fought back by upping their defense and cover. The game ended at 15-25, 20-25. It was a tough loss that motivated the women mentally for their next game. Finally awake and hungry for more pancakes, the Tritons took the momentum into their match against Cal State Channel Islands. With consistent serve receive from defense specialists Lexi Zieler and Stephanie Kwan, the offense was able to run huge plays in the middle by Demi Medina and Lizzy Lyman. Fast kills by middle blocker Paige Linss had her teammates howling “LET IT RIP” (a pun on pages). The Tritons took home the W against CSU Channel Islands with 25-14, 25-23.

Coming back from lunch, the Tritons prepared to tango with their toughest opponents yet, the hosts of the tournament: UCSB. Thanks to the consistently aggressive serves of setter Lynette Xu, the Tritons were able to garner several point runs. The Gauchos proved to be formidable opponents as they narrowly edged out Tritons in the first set (21-25), then ran with an impressive offense second set (20-25). Despite the loss, the Lady Tritons kept their spirits high as they went into their final match of the day against the Trojans of USC. Things were heating like bacon on the court with the lead going back and forth between the two southern California schools. With determination and perseverance, the Tritons refused to give up their fight up until the last point where they lost by a close margin 24-26, 22-25.

With adversity, the Tritons took their experience as a lesson for growth and bonded closer as a team. Proudly, they hold their ~TRITONS UP~ and look forward to their journey together to the next tournament.