SEASIDE, Calif. – With a penchant for comeback victories this season, the San Francisco State women's volleyball team was poised to add another thrilling chapter to its 2010 season; however, host Cal State Monterey Bay had other ideas, snuffing out a furious Gator rally to escape with a five-set win (25-10, 22-25, 25-19, 19-25, 15-12) in a key California Collegiate Athletic Association match Tuesday at the Otter Sports Center.
SF State (12-11, 9-9 CCAA) overcame a sluggish opening frame and a 2-1 deficit in sets, but their rally fell just short, despite 21 kills from Robyn Hall and another 19 put-aways by Lauren Walsh. Meanwhile, CSUMB (14-7, 11-7 CCAA) benefited from a 1-2 punch of their own as Rheann Fall (.369) and Melanie Lashbrook (.438) totaled 29 and 19 kills, respectively.
In addition to the heroics of Hall and Walsh, the Gators received a match-high 55 assists from Iris Tolenada and 24 digs from Sarah Kurfess, while Halimah Oswald and Kelsie Brennan launched eight and six kills, respectively, and finished with two blocks apiece.
Conversely for the Otters, Fall also scooped up 12 digs to complete the double-double, while Monique Sena and Tori Taijeron added team highs of 41 assists and 18 digs, respectively.
Despite owning a 73-65 advantage in digs, the Gators were outhit .311-.196 on the night and found themselves trailing in kills (66-61) and blocks (10-4) while committing more errors (28-16).
CSUMB hit a blistering .654 in the opening set on 17 kills in 26 attempts with no errors, while SF State was limited to just seven kills in 27 swings with five errors for a .074 attack percentage. The Otters raced to a 9-0 advantage and did not look back as the Gators were never able to narrow the gap to under seven points the rest of the way.
SF State fared much better in the second stanza, eventually building a 15-12 lead on consecutive kills by Brennan and Sarah Lewis. The Gators kept the host school at bay for the remainder of the set as a CSUMB attack error provided the clinching point. The Purple and Gold hit at a .342 clip during the frame on 17 kills in 28 tries with four errors.
The Gators were able to sustain the momentum in set number three as the Otters grabbed a 15-9 lead following an SF State attack error. The Gators responded with an 8-2 run at this juncture, ultimately tying the score at 17-17 after pair of Walsh kills sandwiched around an errant CSUMB attack attempt. SF State's comeback efforts were sandbagged, however, as the Otters closed with an 8-2 blitz of their own, punctuated by a Riggs kill.
The Gators rose to the occasion in the fourth frame, overturning a 12-9 deficit to surge ahead 15-13, after a solo block and a kill by Oswald. Moments later, SF State stretched the margin to 21-16 on an Oswald service ace and kill by Hall, while Walsh soon launched a non-returnable shot to send the match into a fifth set.
The Gators were seemingly primed to complete the comeback after staking a 5-2 lead early in the final frame, thanks to an errant CSUMB serve and subsequent attack error. However, the Otters eventually knotted the score at 8-8 on a solo block by Lauren Ding. After an exchange of points, the Purple and Gold took its last lead of the night at 10-9 following a bad set. The Otters tallied the next three points as Lashbrook and Ding combined on a block, while Molly Kennedy served up an ace and Lashbrook followed with a kill to give the host school a 12-10 advantage. The Gators twice pulled to within one, but much to their dismay, Lashbrook and Fall recorded kills on the final two serves to seal the win for CSUMB.
SF State, which is ranked seventh in the latest NCAA Division II West Region poll, returns home this weekend, Nov. 5-6, to face Humboldt State and Sonoma State on successive nights. First serve for both contests is set for 7 p.m. in the Main Gymnasium.
Box Score
