CHICO, Calif. — The San Francisco State volleyball team's comeback from 2-0 came up just short on Friday night at Chico State in a 3-2 (20-25, 9-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-17) CCAA loss.
- Bailey Johnson had a season-high 16 kills, one shy of her career-high (September 29, 2017).
- Olivia Tabron hit a season-high 15 kills on a team-best .429 attack percentage and led the team with six blocks, which matched a career high.
- Payton Jensen's 52 assists are a new career-high, surpassing her 51 assists in an August 31 five-set loss to MSU Billings.
- Maura Donovan recorded a career-high 17 digs. Drew Morris' 14 digs matched a season-high.
- The 12 blocks by SF State are tied-for-the sixth-most in a match in program history.
The Golden Gators (7-5/2-3 CCAA) opened on a 10-4 run before the Wildcats (10-3/3-2 CCAA) surged back to tie the set at 12-12. The teams traded points until 14-14 and the Wildcats went on an 8-1 run to take a 22-15 lead. The Gators showed fight of their own with four consecutive points that cut the lead to 23-20 and forced a Wildcats timeout. A pair of Gators errors proved costly and gave the home team the first set.
San Francisco State went quietly in set two. The Wildcats worked a 9-4 lead early and the Gators never got closer than four points. They trailed by double digits most of the way before dropping the set 25-9.
With their backs against the wall, the Gators opened the third set with the first five points and used that early lead to force a fourth set. A Bekah Boyle kill pulled the Wildcats within a point but Marlena Billings answered with a Gators kill and Jensen served up an ace that made it 21-18. The Gators scored a couple of points off of Wildcats errors and Morris and Tabron finished off the Gators scoring with a couple of kills.
Tied 18-18 in set four, San Francisco State pulled away late to force a fifth and decisive set. The teams traded points until 20-20 and Chico State grabbed a late lead thanks to a Kim Wright kill. A Billings kill tied it and another Wildcats error put the Gators back in front, 22-21. A Johsnon kill made it 23-21. A service error nearly proved costly but the outside hitters came through again, as Tabron and Johnson kills down the stretch gave the Gators a narrow 25-23 win.
With the Gators leading 5-3, what looked like a ball out of play instead stayed alive and resulted in a Bailey Johnson kill. A Wildcats attack error grew the Gators lead to three and prompted a Chico State timeout. Out of the timeout, the Wildcats trimmed the lead to one but Olivia Tabron kept the Gators ahead with a pair of kills to make it 12-10. A Chico State attack error made it 13-11 and led to a second Wildcats timeout. A Drew Morris block made it 14-12 but the Wildcats tied it with the next two points and took the lead on a Gators attack that sailed long. Johnson responded to her error with a kill at the net that knotted it back at 15-15. However, Bekah Boyle's kill gave the Wildcats a 16-15 advantage and Makaela Keeves' block foiled the comeback.
The Gators won't have much time to dwell on the loss as they head to Stanislaus State on Saturday. Then, on Tuesday, September 25, the Gators will get another crack at Chico State as the Wildcats visit San Francisco.
