BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2

SEASIDE, Calif. -- Outside hitter Julia Ashen (North Salinas HS) continued the torried start to her junior season Saturday, becoming just the second player in Cal State Monterey Bay history to record 30 kills in a match to help the Otters split a pair of five-set marathons at the Otter Volleyball Classic in The Kelp Bed.

Ashen's herculean effort came when she put down 30 kills--despite sitting significant portions of the fourth set--of a 23-25, 25-22, 25-21, 21-25, 15-11 win over Dominican University in the third place match late Saturday night. She notched 20 kills earlier in the day in a 25-23, 14-25, 23-25, 27-25, 15-12 loss to Academy of Art.

She joins former All-American and current assistant coach Rheann Fall in the 30-kill club. Fall set the CSUMB standard with 33 kills against Cal Poly Pomona on October 15, 2010.

Ashen's efforts earned her a spot on the all-tournament team.

One day after setting the CSUMB record with 62 assists, junior setter Kelsey Johnston (Ripon HS) put her name in the CSUMB top 10 two more times with 53 assists versus Academy of Art and 50 against Dominican. She now owns the numbers one, six and eight spots on the Otter list for a five-set match.

In the match versus Academy of Art, Jessica Malcolm (Lodi HS) set a career high for the second consecutive match, topping her 18-kill performance Friday against Cal Baptist with 20. Sophomore middle blocker Victory Clardy (Westminster/Marina HS) also set a personal record with 17 kills versus Art.

Head Coach Jody Garry used her roster liberally in the Dominican match with 14 players seeing the court. Eight different Otters recorded kills and six Otters reached double figures in digs, led by Johnston with 18 and Ashen with 17.

CSUMB (3-1 overall) hits the road for its next four matches when it plays at the Route 92 Classic Friday and Saturday. The Otters open play in Belmont Friday against Notre Dame de Namur and Holy Names University.