SAN FRANCISCO – Entering the final weekend of the regular season, the San Francisco State women's volleyball team needed a win on Friday to remain in consideration for a postseason berth, and the Gators answered the bell with a four-set victory over Cal State Stanislaus (25-14, 26-28, 25-17, 25-18) in a California Collegiate Athletic Association match at the Main Gymnasium.
With the victory, SF State (14-12, 11-10 CCAA), ranked 10th in the latest NCAA Division II West Region poll, completed a series sweep of the Warriors (13-14, 10-12 CCAA) for the third straight year and assured itself of back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1987 and 1988.
Individually, Halimah Oswald knocked down a match-high 13 kills, while Robyn Hall blasted 11 put-aways of her own to lead the Gator attack. Iris Tolenada also aided the SF State cause with her 11th double-double of the season, contributing a match-best 41 assists to go along with 15 digs, three kills and two aces, while Sarah Kurfess topped all defenders with 18 scoops on the night.
On the flip side, Lianne Vicchio (11 kills) and Eva Chafeh (10 kills) generated much of the Warriors' offensive output, while Jessica Lehner and Megan Britton added 20 assists and 11 digs, respectively. Vicchio also helped out on defense with 10 digs to complete a double-double, while Kaycee Gow was an immoveable force at the net, totaling two block solos and five block assists.
Despite trailing in total blocks 10-5, the Gators as a team possessed a 52-36 advantage in kills and maintained a sizeable 59-36 margin in digs.
Nevertheless, the flow of the match was very sporadic on Friday as the two sides combined for 16 service errors and 14 reception miscues.
SF State grabbed an early 11-3 lead in the opening set before the Warriors responded with a 7-1 run, capped by consecutive Gator attack errors, to narrow the gap to 12-10. However, the visitors would draw no closer as a Sarah Lewis kill ignited a 9-2 blitz to give the Purple and Gold an insurmountable 21-12 advantage. Moments later, SF State received consecutive kills by Oswald, Kelsie Brennan and Hall to provide the clinching points.
The Gators found themselves on the wrong side of a 10-7 score in the second stanza following a kill by Stanislaus' Melissa Bishop. SF State seemingly took control at this juncture, crafting a 13-3 run, highlighted by three kills apiece from Lewis and Hall, to build a 20-13 bulge. However, the Warriors answered with a 10-3 spurt of their own to knot the score at 23-23. The two sides exchanged points on the next four serves as the Gators went back in front 26-25 on a Megan Larmour kill. The Warriors would not be denied, though, scoring the final three markers to steal the set. Bishop combined with Lehner on a block and then served up an ace, while SF State committed an attack error to provide the set's final outcome.
The Gators came back from intermission with renewed efficiency in the third frame, hitting .419 on 15 kills in 31 attempts with just two errors, compared to 13 miscues and a .067 attack percentage in set number two. SF State led for most of the way, save for two early ties, as the host school closed with a 13-6 rush to break open a tight 12-11 score.
The Gators was unable to carry the momentum over early into set number four as Stanislaus gave itself a 10-7 edge after a kill by Chafeh. However, SF State finally got things rolling with a 9-0 run, highlighted by solo blocks from Lewis and Walsh to take a 16-10 lead it would not surrender. The Warriors scored the next three points, but the Purple and Gold kept their adversaries at bay for the remainder of the set as a Tolenada service ace fittingly cemented the match.
SF State closes out its regular season schedule tomorrow, Nov. 13, when Chico State visits the Main Gymnsium for a 7 p.m. showdown. Prior to the match, the Gators will recognize their three seniors, Jackie Domecus, Lauren Hoffman and Sarah Lewis in a special ceremony as part of Senior Night festivities.
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