MONTEREY BAY, Calif. – San Francisco State volleyball rebounded after a tough weekend to defeat Cal State Monterey Bay in four sets. The Gators dropped the first set 26-24, but rebounded to take the next three sets 25-18, 25-14 and 25-21.
The first set was tight throughout its entirety and featured eight ties and three lead changes. Neither team led by more than four throughout the set. Down 24-22, the Gators rallied to tie the set with a kill from Issak. The Otters responded with a kill of their own and a bad set by the Gators gave Cal State Monterey Bay the set point.
The Gators capitalized on three attack errors to use a 4-0 scoring run to claim an 8-3 lead. Chloe Henning chipped in a pair of block assists to help the Gators on another scoring run to lead 17-8 and force the Otters to take a time out. SF State picked up its first set win of the evening will holding the Otters to a set low -.046 hitting percentage.
Tied at 4-4, Henning had a hand in three of the Gators next six points to take a 10-4 lead. Coming out of an Otter timeout, Alhana Velasquez hit a pair of kills and picked up a third point before the Otters interrupted the Gator's scoring run. The Otters never gained ground from the deficit and dropped the second set.
Brianna DeBoer had three aces in a row and assisted on the next point as the Gator's recorded five unanswered points to take a 7-4 lead. Izzy Issak hit three consecutive kills to stretch the lead to 13-7 and force a timeout by the Otters. The Otters came back within three as the Gators held a 24-21 lead. A service error from the Otters ended the match.
- The Gators improve to 13-3 and 6-3 in the CCAA while the Otters fall to 7-6 and 1-4 in the CCAA
- Izzy Issak and Trinity Barr were the Catalysts to the Gator offense and finished with 18 and 13 kills respectively. Issak set a new season high.
- Trinity Yates started in her second match played this season and recorded six kills and two blocks.
- The Gators had 12 service aces compared to the Otter's five. That number matches a season high. Brianna DeBoer led the team with four while Morgan Spears and Cynthia Beall each had their first career service aces against Cal State Monterey Bay.
- Kimberly DeBoer had a career high 47 assists.
"Had contributions from a lot of girls who hadn't had as many opportunities in past matches and they did a great jobs," said Head Coach Matt Hoffman. "It was a full team effort. Our defense played really well."
San Francisco State will have a rematch with Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday, October 16. First serve is slated for 5 p.m. The match will be broadcast free on the CCAA Network with live stats available at sfstategators.com. Updates will also be available on Twitter at @sfstate_vb.
