San Bernardino – With the match tied at 1-1 coming out of the intermission the SF State women's volleyball team was eager to make it back-to-back wins against No. 15 Cal State San Bernardino in the two team's series history. Unfortunately, the Coyotes came out on fire after the break taking the third and fourth set to win 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 15-25, 16-25) as the Gators fall to 9-11/7-9 CCAA.
The Coyotes (14-5/11-4 CCAA) defense proved to be the difference late in the match. In the first two sets the Gators hit .162 in the first and .343 in the second but were held to a .070 and .091 attack percentage in the third and fourth.
Leading the team was junior middle blocker
Kaileen Mejia who tallied a team-high 11 kills on 21 swings for a .381 attack percentage. She came out of the gates red hot, recording four kills in five swings in the first and two kills on three swings in the second.
Jaclyn Clark finished the night with nine kills, while
Bria Morgan added eight.
Setter
Jacquie Brice recorded her 10
th double-double of the year recording 39 assists and 15 digs.
Jessica Nicerio and
Arianna Cruz recorded 17 and 16 digs respectively.
In the opening set the Gator showed a lot of fight early. The Coyotes jumped out to a big lead midway through the first going up 19-11. Coming out of a timeout, SF State rallied and cut the lead to two, 23-21. Ultimately the rally fell short as the Coyotes put the set away on back-to-back kills by Alexandra Toreline who recorded a match-high 23 kills.
In the second set the Gators jumped out front early and kept the lead. With the set tied 4-4 Mejia put the Gators out front for good with a kill. A kill by Morgan gave SF State a 22-16 lead which was their biggest lead of the night.
Melissa Horton sealed the set and knotted up the match at 1-1 with a kill, winning the set 25-22.
In the third and fourth set the Coyotes took total control. The remaining set featured just one tie in both frames. The Coyote tallied 16 kills in both the third and the fourth hitting .217 and .333.
The Gators continue their Southern California swing taking on UC San Diego and Cal Poly Pomona next weekend. They return to action on Friday in La Jolla against the Tritons, first serve is slated for 7:00 p.m.
Complete Box Score (HTML)--
Gator Athletics has a proud tradition of competitive success within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The department offers 12 intercollegiate sports programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Women's Track & Field, Women's Volleyball and Men's wrestling.Gator Athletics places great emphasis on academic performance as well as athletic achievement. The program offers student athletes the opportunity to reach their educational goals, as well pursue meaningful athletic accomplishments. For more information, visit SF State Athletics' website, Twitter and Facebook pages.
