SAN FRANCISCO – Despite a series of impressive individual performances, the San Francisco State women's volleyball team suffered a heart-breaking loss to Chico State in five sets on Saturday (30-28, 14-25, 25-23, 23-25, 15-12), in a marathon encounter at the Main Gymnasium, marking the regular-season finale for both teams.
With the loss, SF State (14-13, 11-11 California Collegiate Athletic Association) had its postseason aspirations placed in serious jeopardy by the Wildcats (14-14, 9-13 CCAA), who also spoiled the Gators' Senior Night festivities in the process.
SF State was led by Robyn Hall's 23 kills, while Halimah Oswald (14) and Sarah Lewis (11) also surpassed double-digits in put-aways. In addition, Iris Tolenada notched her third straight double-double and 12th on the year, equaling a career best with 62 assists to go along with 21 digs and a match-high four service aces.
Not to be outdone, Sarah Kurfess tied a school record with 40 digs in the back row, matching former Gator Mackenzie Pike's total set against Central Washington in the 2009 season opener.
Conversely, Chico was paced by the 1-2 combo of Alex Shurtz (17 kills) and Jessica Leek (16 kills), while Sable Villaescusa and Molly Ratto finished with 44 assists and 18 digs, respectively.
As a team, SF State owned a sizeable advantage in both kills (73-53) and digs (70-52), but were unable to overcome 39 attack errors, compared to just 23 miscues by the Wildcats. Chico also held a slight advantage in total blocks (11-9) as Crystal Trifeletti tied Lewis for match-high honors with five block assists.
The two sides combined for 40 ties and 22 lead changes on the night while amassing 189 digs altogether in the two-hour-plus barnburner, including 101 scoops by the Purple and Gold.
The opening set greatly foreshadowed the type of match that would unfold as the two teams battled through 15 ties and nine lead changes. Although the Gators tallied 19 kills during the frame, they were plagued by 15 attack errors, while the Wildcats committed just two miscues of their own. After SF State eased its way into the lead at 27-26, Chico closed with a 4-1 rush to escape with the set, taking advantage of the aforementioned errant Gator attacks on the final two serves.
SF State regrouped in set number two, taking the lead for good at 4-3 after a block by Oswald and Hall. The Purple and Gold stretched the margin to as many as six points, until the Wildcats began to whittle away the deficit down to three at 17-14 following a kill by Leek. However, the Gators responded with an 8-0 blitz to end the set, punctuated by a Hall kill.
The third frame was a much closer affair as Chico seemingly put itself in the driver's seat at 19-16 following a block by Villaescusa and Jacqueline Johnson. SF State quickly responded with a 5-1 run to pull ahead by a slim 21-20 margin on Oswald's solo block. The lead proved to be short-lived, however, as Leek killed two shot attempts and joined forces with Trifeletti on a block during a timely 5-2 spurt to give the visitors a 2-1 advantage in sets.
The momentum swung both ways in a nip-and-tuck fourth stanza as Chico apparently built a safe 21-17 cushion after a kill by Shurtz. With their season perhaps on the line, the Gators proved they still had some fight left in them, closing with an 8-2 run to extend the match into a deciding set.
The stage was now set for another grueling exhibition as the two teams once again slugged it out through eight ties and five lead changes in the fifth frame. With the score knotted at 8-8, the Gators committed a blocking error and an attack miscue on consecutive serves, which put the visitors ahead to stay at 10-8. SF State closed to within one on three occasions, but two key kills from Leek down the stretch successfully kept the Purple and Gold at bay.
The Wildcats, who posted a pedestrian .130 attack percentage through the first four frames, finally found their stride in the fifth set, hitting at a .321 clip on 11 kills in 28 swings with just two errors.
The Gators will now await word of their postseason fate on Sunday night at 7 p.m. PST when invitations to the 2010 NCAA Division II Tournament are announced on NCAA.com.
Box Score
