SAN FRANCISCO - The San Francisco State volleyball team shined on Tuesday night as they swept the visiting Chico State Wildcats, 30-28, 25-23, 25-19. The victory is the eighth for the Gators this year, which matches their win total from a season ago.
- SF State outhit Chico State .252 to .190 on the night and powered in nine service aces, which is the second-most recorded this season. The Gators also held an 11-2 block advantage in the contest.
- The sweep is the Gators' sixth this year, and the most in a season since 2015.
- Drew Morris had 12 kills and 17 digs for her fifth double-double this season and hit .324. Olivia Tabron added nine kills and a career-high nine blocks, which is tied-for-the third-most blocks recorded in a match in program history.
- Marlena Billings had a season-best six blocks, Bailey Johnson notched five kills while recording a .308 hitting percentage.
- Maura Donovan and Jessica Haynie each had three service aces.
A block by Tabron and Johnson regained serve and cut it to two early on. Billings' swing to the back corner put SF State up 8-7. Another block by Billings and Tabron tied it up 11-all, and Haynie dropped in an ace for the first Gator lead of the night. The rally continued with another Tabron and Billings block followed by yet another Haynie ace to make it a 14-11 advantage. SF State continued to roll with swings by Johnson, Sophie Anderson and Haynie as they lead 20-16. The Wildcats battled back to tie it up 22-22 with five straight points and later again 25-all. Both teams continued to battle going back and forth, with Tabron tying it up at 26-all with a big kill and Morris doing the same down the stretch. Knotted 28-all, Johnson notched her fourth kill of the frame and a Chico State attack error sealed the marathon set for SF State, 30-28.
Johnson's first ace of the night gave SF State an 8-7 lead. Tied 10-10, Billings had a big swing from the net, and Haynie followed with an ace to widen the lead. Morris answered a Wildcat service ace with a kill off an assist from Payton Jensen to tie things up yet again, 18-18. Following a timeout, Jensen dropped in back-to-back service aces down the sideline to put the Purple and Gold up two, 20-18. Billings powered a kill towards the back to give SF State match point, and Chico State committed a service error to close out the frame, 25-23.
Donovan's ace and Morris kill put the Gators up 3-0. Tabron and Johnson added another to the scoreboard with a block, and Tabron had a big swing at the net in front of the Wildcats to make it 5-0. Leading 9-0, Donovan recorded another ace, Morris added a kill, and another Donovan ace capped off a 12-0 run to open the set. The Wildcats went on a 6-0 streak with kills by Kim Wright and Bekah Boyle to narrow the Gator advantage to 15-12. SF State answered and pushed their lead to 20-15 after more kills by Haynie and some Wildcat miscues. The match ended with consecutive attach errors by Chico State to cap off the sweep for the hosts.
SF State hosts Cal State East Bay as part of Alumni Weekend this Saturday, September 29 at Main Gym at Don Nasser Plaza. Live stats and a stream will be provided.
