LOS ANGELES — It was a good test and a tough loss.

Behind the solid serving of Kandace Korver, the Occidental College women's volleyball team rallied after losing the first two sets to force a fifth. But in the deciding game, Oxy couldn't sustain the energy it created during a huge Game 3 rally, losing to UC Santa Cruz, 25-21, 25-17, 15-25, 20-25, 15-6 at Rush Gymnasium on Saturday.

With Korver's serve pushing the Banana Slugs off of the net, Dana Michels had three of her team-high 16 kills and Megan Olayinka had two during a 10-0 run that resulted in a set win.

"I try to pick out the weaker players and serve them, make them move and create confusion for the other side. The main point is to push the offense off the net," Korver said. "It definitely reset the momentum and gave us more confidence."

Oxy rode the momentum into Game 4. Madyson Cassidy had an ace that sparked a 10-2 run dominated by Stephanie Gann, who had four of her 11 kills during the stretch. Oxy setter Jessie Altman scored a dump, Korver forced an overpass that led to an error, and Olayinka and Natalie Dwulet teamed up a block to finish.

In Game 5, Oxy came out flat, falling in the hole 5-0, and didn't get the breaks it needed. Mort had two kills, but the Tigers couldn't get back in the game.

"I think that the ball just didn't fall in our favor," Korver said. "We're excited to get another chance to play them again."

The first two sets were all UC Santa Cruz.

The Banana Slugs jumped out to a 9-1 lead in Game 1 on a pair of aces by Kim Rabii. The Tigers battled back, cutting the lead to two three times, but couldn't get closer than that. A kill from Alyssa Mort and a set error made it 16-14, then Dwulet and Olayinka had back-to-back blocks to make it 20-18 and Dana Michels put away a kill, putting the score at 23-21. But each time the Banana Slugs countered and were able to hold off the Tigers.

Game 2 was competitive early before the Banana Slugs pulled away late. Mort put away a point to make it 12-9, but then UC Santa Cruz went on a 6-1 run and cruised the rest of the set.

Altman finished with a game-high 43 assists and Cassidy led with 35 digs.

Oxy, which faces La Sierra in the second of two non-conference matches at 7 p.m. in Rush Gym, falls to 11-6 overall.

UC Santa Cruz, which has already beaten Whittier twice and Redlands once, improves to 16-4. The Banana Slugs only losses to SCIAC teams this year were to the two of the top teams in the SCIAC standings, Chapman and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

Oxy hosts UCSC again on Oct. 26.

"We played a very good team today, but still didn't play our best volleyball at the beginning of the match. I liked the way we fought back and forced the fifth game," Oxy coach head coach Heather Collins said. "Unfortunately we didn't come away with the win, but the good news is we get to face another tough team tonight and put this one past us."