ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – The San Francisco State women's volleyball team maintained its torrid hitting Saturday, notching a pair of victories during the final day of competition at the Seawolf Spike Invitational on the Sonoma State University campus. The Gators began the day by knocking off Notre Dame de Namur (17-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-13) before upsetting 24th-ranked Western Oregon (27-25, 25-23, 24-26, 25-16) in another four-set clash.
With the sweep, SF State finished the tournament with a 3-1 mark, duplicating team's start from a year ago.
Against NDNU, the Gators once again displayed their offensive prowess as three players reached double figures in kills. Sophomore Halimah Oswald (San Francisco, Calif., Waldorf HS) established a new personal best with a .600 attack percentage on 13-of-20 hitting with just one error, while senior Beth Perkins (Woodland, Calif., Woodland Christian HS, Mt. Hood CC) tallied a double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs. Junior transfer Lauren Hoffman (Fresno,Calif., Clovis East HS, Fresno City College) also got into the act with 11 kills of her own, while freshman setter Iris Tolenada (Antioch, Calif., Deer Valley HS) added 43 assists.
The Argonauts took the first set, outhitting SF State .464-.207. However, the Gators turned the tables the rest of the way, maintaining a .275-.110 advantage in hitting percentage. In the final frame, SF State completely shut down NDNU as the Argonauts totaled just seven kills while committing seven errors.
The Gators rode that momentum into their afternoon match with Western Oregon, taking the first set with a late rally. Facing set point at 24-21, a kill and service ace by sophomore Kyle Lamet (Benicia, Calif., Carondelet HS) sandwiched around a Wolves attack error knotted the score at 24-24. A kill by Jordan Burrows put WOU briefly back in front; however, a service error followed by back-to-back kills from Oswald and Perkins allowed SF State to escape with the set.
The Gators jumped out to a 7-5 advantage in the second stanza before the Wolves put together a 15-7 run to open up a 20-14 cushion. Forced to play catch-up, SF State pulled to within 24-23, but was unable to get the equalizer as a Gator service error provided the clinching point for WOU.
The third frame was another close battle, featuring eight ties. However, SF State prevented the Wolves from gaining the upper-hand throughout as WOU never led after owning a slim 4-3 margin early on. With the score knotted at 24-24, Oswald hammered down consecutive kills to give the Gators a two-one set advantage in sets.
In the fourth set, SF State never looked back after breaking open a tight 7-6 ballgame with a 12-4 run to build a commanding 19-10 lead. The Gators outhit the Wolves .340-.171 in the frame, limiting their foe to 10 kills.
Individually, Perkins enjoyed her second double-double of the day with a team-high 19 kills and 15 digs, while Oswald and Lamet posted 14 and 10 kills, respectively. Tolenada was also a key contributor with 54 assists and had a 7-for-10 hitting match (.700) with no errors.
The Gators will be back in action next weekend when they co-host the California Clash, Sept. 3-5, in SF State's Main Gymnasium. The Gators open the tournament with a single match on Thursday evening against Hawaii Pacific. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
NDNU Box Score
Western Oregon Box Score
