ROHNERT PARK, Calif- It wasn't easy, but the Sonoma State volleyball team picked up a win in their season opener on Friday at the Seawolf Spike Tournament in Rohnert Park. The Seawolves needed five games to defeat the Alaska Nanooks (23-30, 30-12, 30-26, 20-30, 15-11).
The Seawolves came out flat in game one and saw themselves fall behind quickly. The Nanooks on the other hand appeared sharp and took the first game going away, 30-23. The tide turned in game two as SSU pounded Alaska for a 30-12 win. The teams split the next two to set up an exciting fifth game, which SSU won 15-11.
Lillian Harms, in her debut as the Seawolf libero, tied the school record with 37 digs in the match. Her mark equaled Rosie Manton's 37 dig performance last season against Cal State Dominguez Hills.
Jessica King paced the Nanooks with 18 kills and 19 digs. Alexa Sherman with 20 digs and 45 assists, was also crucial to the Nanooks' upset bid.
Sonoma State will return to action in the 7:00 game when they face former conference rival Grand Canyon. Alaska will meet Chico State at 4:30 pm.
Central Washington defeats Cal State Stanislaus 3-2
ROHNERT PARK, Calif- Central Washington defeated Cal State Stanislaus 3-1 (30-26, 18-30, 30-24, 30-26) on Friday morning at the Seawolf Spike in Rohnert Park. The Wildcats improve to 1-0 on the season while the Warriors drop to 0-1.
Central Washington got 12 kills from Rachael Schurman to lead the way. Julie Henderson had 21 digs and Lindsey Dollente guided the offense with 42 assists.
Cal State Stanislaus had four players in double digit kills, led by Katie Hoag with 14. The Warriors actually outhit the Wildcats .223 to .170, but they were doomed by 18 service errors.
Play will continue for both teams at 2:00 pm as the Wildcats take on Cal State Monterey Bay and the Warriors meet Northwest Nazarene.
Northwest Nazarene defeats CSU Monterey Bay, 3-2
ROHNERT PARK, Calif- Northwest Nazarene overcame a two-game deficit to defeat Cal State Monterey Bay 3-2 in the first game of the 2006 Seawolf Spike Volleyball Tournament at Seawolf Gym in Rohnert Park.
Cal State Monterey Bay got off to a blazing start, taking the first game 30-23 and following that up with a 30-26 win in game two. The Crusaders finally got the engines running in the third game, escaping with a 30-27 win. Game four saw NNU win by a 30-26 score before they pounded the Otters
in the fifth and final game, 15-8.
Lindsey Fryer had 17 kills and 21 digs to lead the Crusader attack. She was helped out by Lindsay Forsyth (15 kills) and Jackie Bourdon (22 digs). Allison James guided the offense with 39 assists in addition to 12 kills.
Kim Sordello turned in 14 kills and a .433 hitting percentage for CSUMB. Christine Ricketts had 13 kills and Katie Bos was all over the place on defense, finishing with 33 digs.
Northwest Nazarene meets Cal Staet Stanislaus in the 2:00 pm game. CSUMB will take on Central Washington, also at 2:00.
Chico State defeats Grand Canyon, 3-1
ROHNERT PARK, Calif- Chico State rolled to a 3-1 (30-12, 30-16, 23-30, 30-25) win over Grand Canyon in their season opener at the Seawolf Spike Tournament in Rohnert Park.
The Wildcats had little trouble in the first two games as they dispatched the Antelopes by scores of 30-12 and 30-16. In the process they out hit GCU .338 to .074. Grand Canyon came back to steal game three, 30-23, before Chico rolled on 30-25 in the fourth.
Jamie Houle and Lindsay Macias led Chico with 11 kills apiece. Macias made it a double-double with 12 digs as well. Erica Brick had 39 assists to guide the offense. Grand Canyon got 11 kills off the bench from Whitney Estes and 10 from Emily Thompson.
Chico State will take on Alaska at 4:30 pm while the Antelopes face the host Seawolves at 7:00 pm.
Central Washington defeats CSU Monterey Bay, 3-1
ROHNERT PARK, Calif- Central Washington dropped game one to Cal State Monterey Bay, but blew past the Otters in the final three to take a 3-1 (28-30, 30-11, 30-17, 30-20) decision at the Seawolf Spike on Friday afternoon in Rohnert Park. The Wildcats go to 2-0 on the season while CSUMB falls to 0-2.
Central Washington was tripped up in the opener as they hit just .115 as a team, well below their .230 average for the game. The tables were turned in game two as the Wildcats beat up on the Otters .500 to -.111 and took a 30-11 win. CWU rolled in games three and four to stay perfect on the day.
Stephanie Powell (16) and Kristin Pasley (15) teamed up for 31 kills combined to lead the Wildcat offense. As for defense, Julie Henderson had 29 digs and Eirka Stevens had 24 more for CWU. Lindsey Dollente was the catalyst for the offense with 51 assists.
Brittany Etchings was the Otter leader with eight kills. Katie Bos had 26 digs and Etchings pitched in with 24 of her own.
The Wildcats will open play on day two of the Seawolf Spike at 11:30 am with Chico State. CSUMB takes on Alaska at 9:00 am.
Northwest Nazarene defeats Cal State Stanislaus, 3-1
ROHNERT PARK, Calif- Northwest Nazarene edged out Cal State Stanislaus in four games (30-19, 30-24, 30-32, 30-28) to stay perfect at the Seawolf Spike on Friday afternoon in Rohnert Park.
Up two games to none, the Crusaders were about to make it a sweep, but the Warriors (0-2) were resilient and stormed back for a 30-28 win. However, it was too little, too late as the Crusaders edged out a 30-28 victory of their own in the fourth.
Lindsay Forseth led NNU with 13 kills. She was also one of five Crusaders with double digit digs as she finished with 18. Cammy Dranginis had eight blocks for NNU as well.
Kelli Costello had ten kills to pace the Warriors. Kayle Van Duyn was solid at setter, dishing out a game-high 35 assists and also coming up with 21 digs.
The Crusaders will try to keep rolling tomorrow morning when they take on host Sonoma State at 11:30 am. Cal State Stanislaus will hope to end their slide against Grand Canyon at 9:00 am on Saturday morning.
Chico State defeats Alaska, 3-0
ROHNERT PARK, Calif- Chico State came up with the first sweep of the Seawolf Spike Tournament on Friday evening with a 3-0 (30-21, 30-27, 30-25) win over Alaska. The Wildcats end their first day of play at 2-0 while the Nanooks fall to 0-2.
Chico State dominated play from the get-go, beating Alaska 30-21 in game one. They continued with more of the same in games two and three, emerging with 30-27, 30-25 victories.
Jamie Houle had 14 kills to pace the Wildcat offense. Lacy Stringfellow's 25 digs and Whitney Johnson's four blocks made them Chico's defensive leaders. Johnson and Macias were in double digits with 11 and 10 kills respectively.
Jenna Jones had nine kills in support of the Nanook effort. She also supplied 18 digs. The Wildcats return to action tomorrow morning when they take on Central Washington at 11:30 am. The Nanooks will take on Cal State Monterey Bay at 9:00 am.
