SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco State volleyball team overcame a slow start for a 3-1 (20-25, 25-10, 25-22, 25-11) non-conference victory over visiting Cal State East Bay on Saturday afternoon.
- SF State moves to 9-10 while Cal State East Bay falls to 7-11.
- Alana Larson set a new career-high with 19 kills to go along with 10 digs and three service aces.
- Aidan Goodrich, finished with 14 kills for a second consecutive match. The senior recently became the tenth Gator to reach that mark and now has 1,020 career kills and counting. She also had 16 digs to make it a double-double, as well as a pair of solo blocks.
- Grace Witcher had 11 kills, eight digs, and a pair of service aces.
- Melanie Hewlett finished with 40 assists. That was her second highest tally of the season, though her career-high 42 came in a sweep of UC Merced.
- Libero Rubi Harrington led the Gators with a career-high 23 digs and added a pair of service aces.
- The Gators had 11 service aces, which was the team's second most this season. However, the team also had 12 errors for a second consecutive match. Goodrich and Larson each had three.
- Cal State East Bay was limited to .038 hitting, which was the lowest mark allowed by the Gators defense this season, as well as the lowest mark by the Pioneers this season.
The two teams traded points early. Tied 13-13 in the first set, the Pioneers went on a 4-1 run and forced a Gators timeout. SF State pulled to within a point, 17-16, out of the timeout, but the Pioneers scored the next three points to go up 20-16. The Gators pulled back to within two but a trio of SF errors gave the first set to CSUEB.
SF State grabbed the momentum by jumping out to an 11-4 lead in the second set. Goodrich went on serving tear. Gators rattled off a 7-0 run, including kills from Hewlett, Goodrich, Lilly Rix, Larson, and Witcher; as well as a pair of Goodrich aces. That forced a Pioneers timeout but the damage was done as SF State closed out the set with another Goodrich kill to even the match 1-1.
The third set remained close early, mostly because of Gators errors, but a three-point run stretched the lead to four, 9-5, and forced another Pioneers timeout. Cal State East Bay pulled to within two and trailed 24-22 but a Pioneers attack error handed the Gators a 2-1 lead.
Down 4-3 in the fourth, a Goodrich kill sparked a 5-1 run and the Gators never looked back. The lead grew to eight, 14-6, and SF State finished the match on a 6-0 run.
The Gators host Menlo on Thursday, October 29 at 5 p.m., which is Staff Appreciation Night. 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.
