SAN FRANCISCO - Despite a late surge to force a fifth set, the San Francisco State volleyball team came out victorious on Senior Night as they held off the Sonoma State Seawolves, 3-2 (25-18, 25-22, 19-25, 23-25, 15-13).
- The victory puts the Gators (16-8/9-6 CCAA) in second in the CCAA North Division Standings. Yesterday SF State clinched their second-straight CCAA Tournament berth.
- SF State now has its most home wins in the last 20 years and have won six of their last eight at The Swamp.
- The win is the fourth straight over the Seawolves (15-9/7-7 CCAA).
- The 80 total points, 67 kills and 64 assists are all the third-most for SF State this season.
- Jessica Haynie led the way with 18 kills and 14 digs, both of which are season highs, and hit .368. Trinity Barr hit .409, hitting above .400 for the second straight match, with 13 kills. Drew Morris also added 13 kills and tied a career high with 20 digs.
- Senior Bailey Johnson added 15 kills and hit .378. She and fellow senior Danielle Ryan were both honored pregame for their storied carriers in the Purple and Gold.
- Jade Gillespie had 10 digs. Payton Jensen dished out 56 assists, her fourth 50+ assist performance of the year.
Jensen's ace made it 3-0, and after a Seawolf surge, Johnson's first of the night made it 6-4 as she powered it down from the right. Barr and Gillespie followed with their firsts of the night as SF State now lead 8-4. A 6-1 run, capped off by a Taylor Garcia ace and another Johnson swing made it a 16-9 lead, but Sonoma State would go on a 5-2 streak that made it 18-13. A block by Jenn Trephan and Adriana Baysinger cut it to four, and SF State called a timeout up three to regroup. Out of the break, Barr and Haynie added kills as the Gators now lead 24-18, and a Seawolf attack error sealed the win.
Haynie's sixth kill of the evening made it 3-2 early in the second. The visitors bounced back behind a block by Bailey Palestine and Adriana Baysinger to go up one, but Barr tied it with a swing that nicked the line to level it, 6-6. After another Sonoma run that put them up 12-9, Morris added another kill and a visitor error cut it to one, and the junior later made it a one-point contest with her fifth kill of the night that made it 13-12. Three consecutive attack errors by Sonoma leveled the match once again and they were forced to call a timeout, 15-15. Tied 21-all, Gillespie tapped it in for the lead and Morris put the Gators up two and force another Sonoma timeout.
Down 7-4, Barr cut it to two with a kill from the middle, but Sonoma pushed their lead to 12-6, but Haynie dropped in a kill in front of the back line and she and Johnson came together for a block that made it a four-point deficit. Sonoma rolled again to go up 21-12 before a Morris kill ended another run, but the Seawolves got it right back and grabbed set point at 24-16. Haynie kept the Gators alive with a swing from the left post and Johnson followed with one off the block attempt. Another Haynie kill cut it to five, but Kiana Richardson kept the visitors alive with a cross-court kill for the 25-19 win.
Five consecutive points by the Seawolves put them up 6-2, but SF State bounced back to cut it to two, 7-5, after a block by Gillespie and Johnson. Down two again, 14-12, Johnson got her 12th kill of the night and Morris then tied it with a kill to the back corner to tie it up , 14-14. Evened at 19-19, Barr put the hosts ahead one as part of a 4-0 run. Up 23-22, the Seawolves got the three straight that they needed to force a deciding fifth.
Four straight for SF State gave them a 6-5 lead and Sonoma State called a timeout. At 8-8, Haynie and Johnson went back-to-back off assists from Jensen to go up 10-8. SF State pulled ahead 13-12, and Barr and Gillespie stuffed the Seawolf attacker, and Jensen put it away with a sneaky kill from the middle as SF State held on.
The Gators hit the road to wrap up the regular season as they take on No. 24 Cal State LA on Friday, November 15 at 7 p.m. Live stats will be provided.
