La Jolla – The SF State women's volleyball team had five players record eight or more kills on the night, four with 10 or more as the Gators defeated host UC San Diego in five sets, 28-26, 25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 15-9 Friday evening at the RIMAC Arena.

The Gators (10-11/8-8 CCAA) were not just effective on the attack.  SF State easily had its best all-around night.  Defensively the Gators were stout, recording 113 digs and tallying 12 total blocks, including six solo blocks.

Bria Morgan led the Gators with 16 kills on the evening.  She was followed by Jazmine Williams'14 kills, and behind her was Jaclyn Clark who recorded 13 kills to go along with 17 digs, while Kaileen Mejia finished the night with 10 kills.  Melissa Horton also added eight.

Jacquie Brice finished the night with 52 assists and 19 digs.  While the back row trio of Jessica Nicerio, Krista Forte and Arianna Cruz all made a big impact.  Nicerio finished with a match-high and career-high 33 digs.  Forte finished with 11 digs and two service aces and Cruz tallied 13 digs.

On the attack the Gators hit just .137 on the evening, as the Tritons (12-8/10-6 CCAA) also did an excellent job on defense.  The Gators were just a little bit better, holding UCSD to a .138 attack percentage on the evening, including a -.148 attack percentage in the fifth and final set.

The opening set did not look good early for the Gators as the Tritons jumped out to the very early 4-1 lead.  But SF State battled back and tied the set at nine on a kill by Morgan.  The two sides dueled to the tune of 13 ties in the opening set alone.  The Gators took the lead for good 27-26 thanks to an attack error by the Tritons.  Clark's second service ace of the set sealed the deal for the Gators who took the frame 28-26.

To being the second set the Gators once again fell behind early, but quickly tied the set up at 6-6.  From there the Gators went on a 6-1 lead to take a 12-7 advantage following a kill by Mejia.  UC San Diego did not go away quietly, eventually tying the set at 15 on a Gator attack error.  A kill by Clark capped a 5-2 run to give the Gators a 20-17 lead from there they were able to hold on and took the set 25-22 following another kill by Clark.

The Tritons cut into the Gators' lead in the third set winning the frame 25-21.  But that does not tell the whole story.  UC San Diego had a commanding eight point lead late in the set, up 22-14 before the Gators made a run, eventually cutting the lead to three 24-21 before UCSD could put it away with a kill. 

To being the fourth set UC San Diego took a quick 9-3 lead, forcing the Gators to use an early timeout.  SF State went on a run and eventually cut the lead to three at 14-11 following a kill by Williams.  However, The Tritons looked to force a fifth set, going on a three point run to take a 17-11 lead following a Gators attack error.  The Gators made yet another run, a block by Horton and Samantha Krakower cut the lead to one 24-23, but the Tritons put it away on a kill the next play to win the set 25-23.

In the fifth and final set the Gators seized momentum early.  SF State jumped out to 4-1 lead, the Tritons closed the gap to two at 5-3 but the Gators pushed it from there going on a 6-2 run to take a commanding 11-5 lead late in the final set. Kills by Williams and Morgan and attack error by UCSD gave the Gators a 14-7 lead.  Williams help put the Tritons away with thee of her 14 kills on the final frame.  A block by Horton and Williams sealed the win for the Gators, 15-9.

The Gators return to action tomorrow night when they travel to Pomona, Calif. to take on the Broncos at 7:00 P.M. at Kellogg Gym.  

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