SAN FRANCISCO - In front of a roaring crowd on Saturday night, the San Francisco State volleyball team downed visiting Cal State Monterey Bay, 3-0 on Senior Night. The match score was 25-20, 25-21, 25-18.
Â
- The sweep is the ninth this season for SF State (12-11/7-9 CCAA), which is the most since 2015. The victory over the Otters (15-8/10-6 CCAA) is the first win for the Gators since the 2015 season.
- The Gators extended their home win streak to four matches, which is the longest streak since 2014, and have won five of their last six contests at home.
- SF State held Monterey Bay to a .161 hitting percentage, which is the second-straight match they have limited their opponent to a sub-.200 hitting mark.Â
- Jessica Haynie led the way with 15 kills and added five digs. Drew Morris hit .368 with seven kills and seven digs with three total blocks. Olivia Tabron shined with ten kills and a .476 hitting mark, while Payton Jensen added 36 assists. Marlena Billings came up big at the net with four blocks and a pair of kills
Â
Trailing 5-1, the Gators bounced back to tie it up 7-7 following a block by Morris and Billings and an ace by Haynie. SF State then went up by three at 13-10 following a kill by Haynie off an assist by Vanessa Ditz to the back line. Bailey Johnson's kill to the back corner made it a 14-11 lead and a swing by Morris increased the advantage, 19-15. Morris added another point to the back of the court which made it 22-7, and Sophie Anderson had an ace to give the Gators set point. The Otters bounced back to cut it to four, but Billings sealed the set victory with a booming kill at the feet of the Otters.
Anderson recorded another ace to start the second set. Down 4-2, Monterey Bay rattled off four-straight to take a two-point lead, but a service error followed by another Morris kill tied things up at 6-all. The back-and-forth continued as the Otters got big net play by Chandler McKean for the 11-10 lead, but Haynie followed with her sixth kill of the night to knot the score. At 14-all, Morris began a 6-1 rally with another swing that was followed by a big Johnson kill. Maura Donovan recorded an ace and Johnson had another kill to the back as the Gators now lead 19-15. The Otters once again battled back to make it a two-point contest at 22-20, but then Haynie got a kill off a tip and Tabron followed with a swing from the net that went to the feet of the Otter setter to grab set point. The senior closed out the 25-21 set two victory with her sixth kill of the evening.
Â
With their backs against the wall, Monterey Bay came out fighting with a 3-1 lead in the third. Anderson continued her strong service night with yet another ace that tied it up, 3-3. The momentum swung for SF State as they went up 8-4 on a 5-1 run that featured kills by Haynie, Tabron and Billings that all came on assists from Jensen. After an Otter timeout, Billings posted a big solo block to continued the run. Back-to-back Haynie points prompted another Otter timeout as the Gators now lead 12-6. The Purple and Gold pushed their lead to nine at 21-12, but the Otters bounced back with kills from McKean and Jenna Tobin, and narrowed the deficit to 23-18. The Gators were unfazed as Tabron logged a kill and Morris sent everyone home with a big kill from the sideline. SF Start hit a dominating .359 in that final frame with 17 kills.Â
Â
The Gators control their own destiny as they look clinch a postseason berth next week as they take on Sonoma State on November 1 before wrapping up the regular season at Humboldt State on November 3.
