SEASIDE, Calif. — Despite a strong start, the San Francisco State volleyball team dropped a heartbreaker to host Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday, falling in five sets. The score was 27-29, 25-22, 25-27, 25-21, 15-11.
- The Gators (10-9/5-7 CCAA) recorded 16 total blocks in the contest, which are the most since 2003. Nine came from Olivia Tabron, which is tied -for-the third-most since 2003, and eight of them were from Marlena Billings.
- Jessica Haynie led all players with 17 kills and tallied nine digs. Billings recorded a season-high .533 hitting percentage with nine kills while Bailey Johnson hit .417 with 12 kills. Drew Morris notched her seventh double-double of the year with 12 kills and 19 digs.
- The 70 digs by SF State are the fourth-most recorded this season and the 60 kills are the second most.
- The 11 service aces are the most this campaign and tied-for-the tenth-most in program history.
Two-straight kills by Haynie tied things up 3-all at the Kelp Bed early on. Following a 5-0 Otter (13-6/8-4 CCAA) run, Billings dropped in a kill and Morris made it a two point frame with a big swing of her own. Vanessa Ditz recorded a service ace that fell in near the sideline that narrowed the deficit to 9-8, but the hosts put together another run to go up 13-8. Payton Jensen cut it to one with an ace, and Haynie notched a kill off an assist from Ditz to tie things up at 17-all. However Monterey Bay took a two-point advantage with kills by Hannah Haveman and Jenna Tobin. An Otter attack error tied it up 22-all, and Monterey Bay came out of the timeout with a kill, which was countered with a swing by Johnson. Facing set point, Johnson came up big with another swing to tie it up 24-24, and Billings and Haynie followed with a block to give SF State set point. Tied up 27-all, Tabron dropped in a kill and Haynie logged a service ace for the marathon 29-27 opening set win. SF State held the hosts to a .135 hitting percentage in set one while recording a .268 mark in that first frame with 16 kills.
Tied up 3-3, the Otters recorded three-straight before a service error and a block by Tabron and Billings made it a one-point contest. Morris got her fifth kill of the evening, narrowing the deficit to three at 13-10, which was followed by an attach error and a Haynie swing which cut it to one. The rally continued with three-straight aces by Morris as SF State led 15-13 and prompted an Otter timeout. Tied up 18-all, Monterey Bay rattled off three straight but Tabron made a big solo block at the net and Morris answered with a kill which cut it to 21-20. The hosts got a swing from Chandler McKean for set point, and Tabron kept the Gators alive with her fourth kill of the eventing, but a swing by Tobin sealed the 25-22 set two victory for Monterey Bay.
Johnson opened up the third with a kill to the sideline. SF State pulled ahead by one as Tabron and Johnson came up big with a block to make it 7-6 and later went on a 4-1 run to go up 12-9, which was capped off by a block by Haynie and the Otters called a timeout. Back-to-back swings off the hand of Billings put the Purple and Gold up by two. Monterey Bay pulled ahead 22-20, but the Gators knotted it with consecutive kills by Johnson. Jensen dished to Haynie, who powered it in from the net to make it 25-25, and, trailing 26-25, the Gators got kills from Haynie and Morris for set point, which Morris sealed with a win.
The Gators stormed to a 6-2 lead in the fourth, featuring kills by Billings and Tabron and back-to-back swings by Haynie. SF State pushed the lead to 10-7, but Monterey Bay bounced back once again with a 5-1 run capped off by a Ashlynne Armstrong ace. Morris dropped in a kill from an assist from Ditz for the one-point lead, 19-18, but the Otters ran head to a 23-19 advantage before a service error regained the SF State service. Jenna gave the Otters set point and a Gator miscue won it for the hosts, 25-21.
Monterey Bay came out up 4-2 and pushed the advantage to 6-4 before Tabron cut it to a pair with her eighth swing of the night. Monterey Bay continued to roll as they went up 11-7 and got kills by Anela Visesio and Baylie Pierson for match point, but the Gators once again battled back to stay alive. Haynie opened with another kill and an ace which narrowed the deficit to four and prompted an Otter timeout. The hosts closed it out 15-10 on a service error.
The Gators go up against No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino on the road on Friday, October 19 at 7 p.m. Live stats and a stream will be provided.
