TURLOCK, Calif. - The San Francisco State volleyball team returned to the postseason and battled hard against the top-ranked team in the nation in Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday night. The Gators fell 3-0 to the Coyotes, but the score was not indicative of their performance as SF State only lost by nine combined points in the effort, reaching the 20-point plateau in every frame.

Notables

• SF State (14-12/9-9 CCAA) held the Coyotes(24-2/16-1 CCAA) to a .182 hitting percentage, which is the third-lowest mark San Bernardino has posted all year. Meanwhile the Gators hit .183, which is the fifth highest allowed by the Coyotes.
• The Gators also held a 5-2 block advantage, and the two blocks by the Coyotes the fewest accrued this year.
• Olivia Tabron recorded ten kills and hit .450 in the contest. The CCAA Honorable Mention honoree also added four block assists to give her 83 on the year, which is the seventh-most in a season in program history.
• Bailey Johnson and Drew Morris each added nine kills, while Jessica Haynie poured in eight. Vanessa Ditz added 25 digs while Payton Jensen recorded 34 assists.

Set One

Tied up 6-all and the Gators got its first lead of the day on a kill by Tabron to the back corner. San Bernardino went up 14-11 after a kill by Sascha Dominique, but SF State would narrow the deficit to a pair at 20-18 after Jensen set up Morris, who got the kill to the sideline. The Gators would once again make it a two-point contest at 23-21, but San Bernardino got another Dominique swing and an SF State miscue ended the frame. 

Set Two

The Coyotes came out to a 7-5 lead before Haynie, who was named to the All-CCAA Second Team earlier this week, made it a one-point contest with a swing from the left side. San Bernardino tried to pull away but the Gators remained strong in keeping within reach. Trailing 18-15, Morris added to the scoreboard and Jensen dropped in an ace. Tabron and Billings narrowed the deficit to one yet again with a block in the middle, making it 18-17. The Coyotes pulled ahead by four after a block by Mikaela Grove and Dominique and a kill by Grove. Down the stretch trailing 24-20, Tabron dropped in her eighth kill of the night and she later added another followed by an ace by Donovan and another kill by Morris as SF State now only trailed 24-23. However San Bernardino escaped with the set two victory.
 

Tabron gets her 8th kill of the night and the Gators cut it to one! We trail just 24-23 #chompcity pic.twitter.com/pga2rMPQ3P

— SF State Volleyball (@SFState_VB) November 9, 2018

Set Three

San Bernardino pulled ahead 2-0 early, which featured a kill by the CCAA Setter of the Year, Jayann DeHoog. Johnson ended the run with a kill to the back corner. Down 5-3, Johnson recorded another kill and a Coyote attack error tied things up. Jensen next dished to Haynie on the right side who powered in her sixth kill of the night for the 6-5 lead. SF State bounced back yet again to knot the score, this time 10-all as Haynie and Tabron continued their strong performances at the net. Johnson and Tabron combined for a block as the Gators pulled ahead 12-11, and both teams battled back and forth and the Coyotes would pull ahead 19-17 looking to seal the win. Out of the break, added another to the score column with a swing that bounced off the Coyote tip, bringing the score to 22-19. SF State strung together a 3-0 run late to stay alive, which started with a Coyote service error and followed with a block by Morris and Johnson, and was capped off by a Morris kill, forcing San Bernardino to call another timeout and regroup. Out of the break, the top team in the nation did what they needed to take match, 25-22.

The setback concludes a strong season for SF State, who reached the postseason for the first time since 2015. The Gators had ten sweeps on the year, which is the most since the 2012 season. SF State hit .236 on the season, which shatters the previous program record set in 2014 of .215.

Following the Championships, Ditz was named to the CCAA All-Tournament team.