POMONA, Calif. – The San Francisco State women's volleyball team kept its postseason hopes alive Saturday night with an uplifting four-set triumph over Cal Poly Pomona (21-25, 25-14, 25-23, 25-17) in the regular-season finale for both schools at Darlene May Gymnasium.
The victory marked the Gators' (20-10, 13-9 California Collegiate Athletic Association) first season sweep of the Broncos (11-18, 8-14 CCAA) since 1998, as SF State reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since 1988.
The Gators, ranked ninth in the latest NCAA Division II West Region rankings, will now await word of a possible regional berth when the field is announced Sunday night. The top eight teams in the West Region will receive bids, including three automatic spots from the champions of the CCAA, Great Northwest Athletic Conference and Pacific West Conference, along with five at-large invitees.
SF State received a match-high 22 kills from senior Beth Perkins (Woodland, Calif., Woodland Christian HS, Mt. Hood CC), who surpassed the 20-kill mark for the eighth time this year, while adding 11 digs for her 15th double-double of 2009. Not to be outdone, freshman Iris Tolenada (Antioch, Calif., Deer Valley HS) notched her team-leading 22nd double-double of the year, posting a match-best 45 assists to go along with a team-high 14 digs. In a campaign chock-full of milestones for the Purple and Gold, Tolenada vaulted into first place on the Gators' single-season list with 1,232 assists, surpassing Angie Hart's total of 1,217 set in 1989.
SF State also received a stellar performance from Sarah Lewis (San Diego, Calif., Lutheran HS, Southwestern College), who hit at a blistering .733 clip, knocking down a season-best 11 kills on 15 attempts with no errors. The Gator junior also excelled at the net, finishing with a season-high seven block assists.
The two teams battled for control early in the opening set until CPP took the lead for good at 10-8 following consecutive kills by Elizabeth Diaz and Taylr Kreutziger. The Broncos eventually stretched the margin to 19-13 on a Jasmine Davis service ace, putting SF State in chase mode. The Gators managed to narrow the gap to 22-20; however, the Broncos pulled away with a 3-1 spurt as a Kreutziger kill provided the clincher
After posting a .149 attack percentage in the first set, the SF State offense came to life in the second frame, outhitting CPP by a .325-.028 margin. The Gators were never threatened after building 13-5 advantage midway through the contest. SF State cruised the rest of the way, with sophomore Kyle Lamet (Benicia, Calif., Carondelet HS) and freshman Lauren Walsh (Coto de Caza, Calif., Tesoro HS) supplying kills to close out the set.
The third stanza proved pivotal as the Gators rallied from an early 6-1 deficit to tie the score at 12-12 on consecutive kills by Perkins and Lewis. Moments later, SF State took its first lead of the set at 18-16 following a Bronco service miscue and attack error. The Gators stretched the margin to 23-20 moments later on another CPP service error. CPP answered with three straight points to knot things up at 23-23; however, Perkins blasted a kill then combined with Lewis for a block, allowing SF State to escape.
The Gators avoided a repeat of their wobbly start in the previous frame, benefitting from seven Bronco attack errors to fashion a comfortable 13-5 cushion in the fourth set. CPP was unable to draw any closer than five points as a Lamet kill sealed the victory.
The Broncos were paced by Kristin McNeese's 17 kills, while Audrey Driscoll added a match-high 21 digs in a losing effort.
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