CHICO, Calif. – The San Francisco State women's volleyball team received double-digit kills from three players Saturday night, but it wasn't enough as 25th-ranked Chico State claimed a tough four-set decision over the Gators (25-20, 17-25, 25-19, 25-20) in a California Collegiate Athletic Association match at Acker Gym.
With the loss, SF State slips to 15-6 overall and 8-5 in conference play, while the Wildcats move to 18-5 overall and 9-4 in the CCAA after sweeping the season series between the two teams.
Following a 24-kill effort on Friday at Cal State Stanislaus, senior Beth Perkins (Woodland, Calif., Woodland Christian HS, Mt. Hood CC) was on fire once again against Chico State, finishing with 20 for match-high honors, marking the first time in her career she has reached the 20-kill plateau in consecutive matches. Also aiding the Gator cause was junior Lauren Hoffman (Fresno,Calif., Clovis East HS, Fresno City College) who knocked down a season-best 15 kills, while sophomore Halimah Oswald (San Francisco, Calif., Waldorf HS) added 11 of her own. In addition, SF State received match-highs from freshman Iris Tolenada (Antioch, Calif., Deer Valley HS) (43 assists) and junior Vanessa Shaw (Santa Barbara, Calif., Dos Pueblos HS, Santa Barbara CC) (16 digs).
Despite owning a statistical advantage in kills (53-45), digs (70-61) and assists (48-40), the Gators were outhit .208-.180 as a team, committing 26 attack errors compared to the Wildcats' 15 miscues.
The opening frame was a closely contested affair as the two sides combined for 12 ties and five lead changes. After the Gators went ahead at 19-18 on a Hoffman kill, Chico State erupted with a 7-1 flurry to capture the set. The Wildcats benefitted from four Gator attack errors during the run, while Jacqueline Johnson's kill provided the clinching point.
After hitting just .056 in the first set, the SF State offense came to life in the second stanza, posting a stellar .406 attack percentage on 18-for-32 hitting with just five errors. With the score tied at 12-12, Hoffman knocked down four kills during a key 8-2 run to give the Gators a comfortable 19-14 cushion they would not relinquish.
SF State was unable to carry the momentum over into the third set as Chico State broke an early 4-4 deadlock with three straight points on a service ace, a Makenzie Snyder kill and a Gator attack error to take the lead for good at 7-4. With SF State in pursuit mode, the Wildcats effectively kept the visitors at bay, eventually building an insurmountable 24-17 advantage.
The fourth set proved to a carbon copy of the first one, featuring an additional 12 ties and five lead changes. Trailing 14-12, the Gators scored on consecutive kills by Perkins and Hoffman followed by a Chico State attack error to forge a slim 15-14 lead. The Wildcats stole SF State's thunder, however, as a Gillian Heydorff kill capped a 5-2 run to put the host school up 19-17. The Gators quickly answered with back-to-back kills from Oswald and Perkins, but were unable to gain the upper hand. With the score knotted at 19-19, SF State's hopes to extend the match to a fifth set were soon dashed as Chico State sealed the win with a 6-1 run.
The Gators return to the court next weekend with a pair of road tilts at Humboldt State (Oct. 23) and No. 17 Sonoma State (Oct. 24). Starting time for both matches is slated for 7 p.m.
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