POMONA, Calif. – The San Francisco State women's volleyball team received double-digit kills from three players to key a four-set triumph over Western New Mexico on Friday at the season-opening Cal Poly Pomona Tournament by scores of 25-16, 25-11, 19-25 and 25-16. The victory enabled the Gators (1-1) to salvage a split on day one of competition after dropping a three-set affair to Cal Baptist (25-14, 25-21, 25-14) earlier in their first match.
As a team, the Gators outhit the Mustangs .256-.116, including a 52-40 advantage in kills.
In the opening set, SF State overcame a 10-5 deficit, taking advantage of three WNMU attack errors during a 10-2 blitz to fashion a 15-12 lead. Johnson, Walsh and
Kelsie Brennan added two kills apiece during the run that put the Purple and Gold to stay.
The Gators limited the Mustangs to just five kills and a -.067 attack percentage in the second stanza as a
Reyna Rochin service ace provided an 11-2 bulge. Johnson, Oswald and
Robyn Hall registered three non-returnables apiece as SF State captured the set going away.
The Gators experienced some tough sledding in the third frame as an early 7-1 deficit proved too much to overcome. Still, SF State remained in contention as two WNMU hitting errors and a ball-handling miscue enabled the Purple and Gold to pull within 16-14. SF State could draw no closer, however, as the Mustangs reeled off the next four points, punctuated by an Angelina Pulu kill to dash any hopes of a Gator sweep.
After hitting just .088 in the previous set, SF State posted its best attack percentage of the contest with a .333 clip in the fourth and final frame, building an insurmountable 10-3 advantage following back-to-back kills by Oswald and Rochin. The Gators kept their foe at bay for the remainder of the match as Brennan and
Kelly Ostello combined on a block for the final point to give SF State its first victory of the 2011 campaign.
WNMU was paced by Pulu, who registered 10 kills and 16 digs in the loss.
The Gators got off to a wobbly start against CBU as the Lancers raced to an 8-1 advantage in the opening frame and never looked back. SF State gradually trimmed the deficit to 13-9 on a combined block by Oswald and
Robyn Hall and a Lancer attack error. However, CBU closed off the set with a 12-5 run as Jelena Dragovic and Ingrid Carmona joined forces on a block for the clinching point.
The two sides battled in the early stages of the second stanza as the Gators nursed a slim 11-9 margin after an Oswald kill. However, the Lancers reeled off five straight points, including four put-aways by Andrea Csaszi to forge a 14-11 lead they would not relinquish. Moments later, CBU padded its cushion to 23-17 before SF State received two Oswald kills sandwiched around a Lancer hitting error to pull within 23-20. The Gator rally came up short, though, as kills by Jordyn Siko and Csaszi gave CBU a 2-0 edge in sets.
The two teams witnessed four ties in the early stages of the third frame until the Lancers seized control with a 14-4 outburst that broke an 8-8 deadlock. Bree Rauschenbach fueled the run with three kills and two service aces to help put CBU in the driver's seat at 22-12. Shortly thereafter, Csaszi launched another non-returnable to put the finishing touches on the match.
The Lancers outhit SF State .291-.053 and owned an 11-4 advantage in total blocks.
Johnson and Oswald led the Gators with nine kills apiece, while Tolenada and
Sarah Kurfess finished with 28 assists and 15 digs, respectively. Conversely, CBU received match-highs from Carmona (15 kills) and Siko (33 assists), while Rauschenbach (8 block assists), Csaszi, and Megan Glennie added 11 digs each.
