SAN FRANCISCO  – In what has become a all-too familiar refrain of late, the San Francisco State women's volleyball team dropped another heartbreaking decision on Saturday in a five-set loss to visiting Sonoma State (26-24, 25-18, 15-25, 22-25, 9-15) at the Main Gymnasium.

The Gators fell for the sixth consecutive match, including the last four in five sets, to slip to 11-14 on the season and 4-12 in the CCAA.  Meanwhile, the Seawolves improve to 20-5 and 12-4 in league play.

The opening set was a seesaw affair that featured 13 ties and eight lead changes.  Trailing 24-21, SF State fought itself off the ropes with two aces by freshman Mary Maiocco (Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield HS) following a service error by SSU's Taylor Krenwinkel.  The Gators then closed out the frame on a kill by junior Beth Perkins (Woodland, California, Mt. Hood Community College) and another Maiocco ace.

With momentum on their side, SF State raced to a 13-5 lead in the second set. However, an ace by the Seawolves' Ali Walker capped a 6-1 run, which narrowed the gap 14-11. SSU was unable get any closer than three points the rest of the way as freshman Kyle Lamet (Benicia, California, Carondelet HS) registered four kills to help put the set out of reach.

At this point, the Seawolves stymied the Gator offense, holding SF State to a .091 hitting percentage over the final three sets.  In the third stanza SSU never trailed, unleashing a 16-9 flurry to close out the frame after the Gators pulled to within 9-6 after a Lamet kill.

SF State quickly found itself on the wrong side of an 11-3 score early on in the fourth set.  At this juncture, the Gators regrouped and began slowly whittling away at the deficit.  A kill by senior Laura Deely (San Francisco, California, St. Ignatius College Prep) brought the home team to within a point at 20-19, but the equalizer would prove to be elusive as the Seawolves outscored SF State 5-3 down the stretch to escape with the set.

That set the stage for the fifth and deciding set as the two sides battled one another over the course of six ties and four lead changes.  With the scoreboard knotted at 9-9, consecutive kills by Lindsay Brown and Marianne Fox sparked a 6-0 run that gave SSU the clinching points.

Individually, the Gators had three players with double-digit kills for the second night in a row, including Perkins' team-high 15 kills.  Lamet also contributed 12 kills to go along with 21 digs and a match-high eight block assists, while freshman Brittany Powell (Chula Vista, Calif.) added 10 kills of her own.  In addition, Maiocco chipped in with 43 assists, while freshman Christina Johnson (Wildomar, California, Elsinore HS) registered 33 digs. 

SF State returns to the court next weekend for its final road trip of the regular season.  The Gators will tackle Cal State L.A. on Friday, Nov. 7, before battling Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday, Nov. 8.  Both matches are slated for a 7 p.m. start.