HAYWARD, Calif. – The San Francisco State volleyball team bested Cal State East Bay 3-1 (25-17, 18-25, 25-21, 25-12) behind junior Alana Larson's career night.
- SF State avenges a September 25 non-conference to the Pioneers and improves to 8-9 while Cal State East Bay slips to 7-10. The two teams are now tied for fifth place in the CCAA at 5-4 but the Gators hold the crucial head-to-head advantage in conference play.
- Larson matched career-highs with 17 kills and 22 digs, to go along with three assists, a pair of blocks, and a service ace. The 17 kills matched a career-high set in a September 3 loss to Colorado Mines while the 22 digs matched a career-best from nearly a year ago, an October 23, 2025 win over Cal State Monterey Bay.
- Grace Witcher added a double-double with 14 kills and a dozen digs. Aidan Goodrich had nine kills and 16 digs.
- Libero Rubi Harrington recorded a career-high 20 digs.
- Lilly Rix had five kills on a team-best .286 hitting.
- Melanie Hewlett dished out 34 assists.
- The Gators landed six service aces for a second straight match.
- SF State held the Pioneers to just .103 hitting, their second lowest mark of the season.
SF State trailed 2-1 early but rattled off five straigth points and an 8-1 run to take an early 9-3 lead. A 5-3 run closed it with all three Pioneers points coming from Gators mistakes but the Gators had the early advantage.
SF State led 7-6 in the second set but CSUEB answered with a four-point run and never surrendered the lead. The Gators pulled to within one but the Pioneers went on a 9-3 run and stretched the lead to seven, 19-12.
The Gators shook off the second set and jumped out to a 8-0 lead in set three. However, the Pioneers kept it close and pulled to within three as late as 24-21. Goodrich closed out the set with a kill and the momentum carried over as she opened the fourth set with another kill. Gianna Navarro evened the score with a kill but another Pioneer service error and a Hewlett kill made it 3-1 in favor of the Gators. SF State finished the match on a 6-1 run to take the match.
The Gators host No. 14 Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday, October 22 at 5 p.m., then face CSUEB again on Saturday, October 24 at 3 p.m. SFSU will also host the Broncos and Pioneers on Friday, October 23 at 3 p.m. All three matches are non-conference. Live stats will be available at sfstategators.com and fans can watch the action on FloCollege. Tickets are available at sfstategators.com/tickets.
About San Francisco State Athletics
San Francisco State Athletics sponsors ten NCAA Division II programs and competes in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) in all sports expect for wrestling, which competes in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). The mission of the Department of Athletics at SF State is to provide a broad-based NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics program that fosters the physical, intellectual, social, and emotional development of a diverse and highly skilled group of student-athletes. Fans can follow the Gators @sfstate_gators on Instagram, X, Threads, and Facebook. Click here to support San Francisco State Athletics.
