ROHNERT PARK, Calif. - The San Francisco State women's volleyball team won its third straight match on Thursday, defeating host Sonoma State in four, 25-17, 25-18, 17-25, 25-21, as SF State moves closer to a postseason berth. A victory over Humboldt State on Saturday would clinch a CCAA Tournament appearance for the Gators.
- The victory secures a winning regular season for SF State (13-11/8-9 CCAA), which is the first since 2015. The Gators will look to make it 14 victories on the year on Saturday, which will also be the most since 2015.
- SF State outhit Sonoma State (8-18/4-13 CCAA) .257-.153 in the contest and held an 11-4 block advantage, which is the fifth time this season the Gators have had double-digit blocks.
- Bailey Johnson hit .522, which is her best hitting performance since September 1 (minimum 15 attempts). She also added 15 kills and three digs. Vanessa Ditz added 19 digs and a pair of service aces. Payton Jensen and Jessica Haynie led the way with three aces each, and Haynie also poured in 15 kills.
- Drew Morris logged 15 digs, and Olivia Tabron hit .296 on the night with 13 kills.
SF State stormed to a 10-3 lead in the first, which was capped off by five-straight points that started with kills by Tabron and Billings and a big block from Morris. The Gators then strung together another run to go up by ten at 14-4, and Johnson had her first block of the night and Ditz followed with an ace. Another four-point streak widened the lead as the Gators continued to run away with the first frame. The Seawolves would cut it to six late in the set, but Tabron got back-to-back kills to close out the set.
Sonoma State came out with three straight points, but the Gators countered to go up 5-4 following Haynie's kill. Trailing 14-9, the hosts tied things up with five straight of their own, which featured a pair of Amy Trephan kills, however once again the Purple and Gold bounced back with their own five-point streak to make it 20-15. Jensen dropped in one of her three aces, and she later dished to Haynie for a kill. Tabron gave SF State set point at 24-18, and a Sonoma State attack error sealed the win.
The Seawolves bounced back in set three, going up 10-6 with more kills by Trephan. They later pushed their lead 16-9 and continued to fend SF State off as they looked to avoid the sweep. After a timeout, the hosts got their largest lead of the night at 21-13, but the Gators battled back with another Tabron kill and a block by Morris and Johnson. Up seven, the Seawolves got a swing by Tate Battistini to the back line for the set three victory.
The momentum continued for the hosts into the fourth as they went up 5-0 early. The Purple and Gold bounced back with kills by Johnson, Haynie and Jensen to tie it up 8-8. The back and forth continued as Sonoma State looked to stay alive, going up 15-12, but the Gators utilized another big run, this time of six points, to regain a three-point advantage. Tabron got things going with a kill, Ditz recorded another ace, and Johnson had consecutive kills to go up 18-15. SF State maintained that three-point cushion as they went up 23-20, and Tabron once again grabbed set point with her 13th kill of the eventing. Haynie closed out the match with a swing from the corner off an assist from Jensen for the win.
The Gators wrap up the regular season on Saturday as they travel to Humboldt State. Match time is at 7 p.m., and a live stream will be provided.
