SAN FRANCISCO - It was a well-rounded effort on Saturday as the San Francisco State volleyball team held off a late surge from the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters to earn their third-straight win and fourth consecutive at home. The final score was 3-1 (27-25, 25-21, 15-25, 25-21).
- The Gators (13-5/6-3 CCAA) are now 10-1 at home, which are the most home victories since 2009. SF State is one victory away from matching last year's win total.
- The victory propels SF State to first place in the CCAA North Division Standings as they are a half match up over Stanislaus State who is in second.Â
- The nine total blocks on the night are tied for the most this season. Bailey Johnson tied a season high with six total blocks and led the way with 16 kills. Drew Morris added 14 kills and 12 digs, and Jessica Haynie added 14 kills and a pair of aces.
- Sophie Anderson tied a season best with 12 digs, Payton Jensen had 15 digs and 44 assists. Taylor Garcia had 25 digs, two shy of tying her season best.
- SF State hit a whopping .459 in the first set with 19 kills.
Kills by Johnson and Morris narrowed the deficit to one, and Johnson tied it up, 5-5, with a booming kill from the middle. Haynie's first swing of the night that went to the back corner tied it up again, 9-9, and Morris followed with an ace for the lead. The rally continued as Morris and Johnson teamed up to stuff the Otter outside hitter as part of a 4-0 run that put the Gators up 16-11 and force a Monterey Bay timeout. The Otters came out of the break with two-straight points, and then tied it at 18-all before Johnson's fourth kill of the night regained the one-point lead. Back-to-back kills by Haynie regained some momentum for SF State and rallied the crowd, and Trinity Barr put SF State up 23-22 with a booming cross-court kill and force another Otter timeout. However once again the Otters came out swinging to level the score. Tied up 25-25, Johnson dropped one in and Haynie sealed the win with another back-court point for the 27-25 victory.Â
Haynie and Johnson teamed up for a block for the 3-2 lead in the second. A 5-1 run widened the lead to 8-4, featuring an ace by Anderson and a kill from the middle by Barr. Another block by Barr and Morris made it a five-point lead, and Cassandra Fong's ace that nicked the line made it a 12-6 advantage. Another six-point lead was increased to seven as Garcia recorded an ace for a 17-10 lead. The Otters would bounce back on kills by Aly Fullbright and Hannah Haveman. Barr's fourth kill of the match put the Gators up 20-15 as they looked to close it out, but Monterey Bay stayed within striking distance with three quick points before Johnson ended tied run with a swing right at the feet of the blocker. The senior would add another as the Purple and Gold now lead 22-18, and following another Otter surge, a visitor attack error made it 23-20. Johnson's tenth kill put SF State within set point, and Anderson and Barr came up with a block for the 25-21 win and key 2-0 match lead.Â
Monterey Bay came out with a 4-0 lead in the third. Garcia's ace would cut it to three at 7-4, but the Otters went on to score four of the next five points to go up 11-5. A Barr kill followed by a Johnson and Morris block cut it to three, 12-9, but Monterey Bay was able to get those points back right away to regain the five-point cushion. A 7-0 run made it a double-digit lead as the visitors encroached on forcing a fourth set. Morris notched two more kills following the timeout and Jensen followed with an ace, but the Otters strung together four straight to regain the ten-point lead, 23-13, and consecutive Gator errors gave the win to the Otters, 25-15.Â
Consecutive aces by Haynie put the Gators up 6-3 in the fourth, and a Barr kill to the back left corder made it an 8-3 lead, capping off a 5-0 run. Up 12-6, Anderson and Johnson teamed up for a big block and Haynie followed with her 12th kill for an eight-point advantage. The Otters went on a 4-0 run to cut it to three, 16-13, and another four-point rally made it 19-18. Jensen dished to Barr following the timeout who punched it in to end the run. Leveled at 21-all, Johnson notched a big solo block and followed with her 15th swing for the lead. The senior would get one more kill and a bad set by Monterey Bay clinched the victoryÂ
The Gators host Cal Poly Pomona on Friday, October 25 at 7 p.m. Live stats and a stream will be provided.
