ROHNERT PARK, Calif-  Sonoma State turned in their finest effort of the young season on Saturday morning as they swept Northwest Nazarene 3-0 (30-20, 30-16, 30-25) at the Seawolf Spike Tournament in Rohnert Park.  Katie LeBeau led the way with 17 kills and a .448 hitting percentage.

The Seawolves got out to a solid start, opening up a lead of 12-2 in the first game.  From there, SSU would not look back as the Crusaders could not threaten.  SSU took game two by a 30-16 margin, then held on for a 30-25 win in the third.

Sonoma State hit at a .352 clip, by far their best mark of the 2006 season.

LeBeau continued her torrid play at the Seawolf Spike with a 17-4-29 (.448) performance.  In last night's game against Grand Canyon, LeBeau had 18 kills, one off her career-high.

Lillian Harms was strong at libero, digging 24 Crusader attacks.  Kaylee Aizenstadt turned in an efficient outing, compiling ten kills (and no errors) in just 18 attacks.  Megan Moore picked up a season-high 30 assists at setter.

Loni Loveland had nine kills to lead the Crusaders (0-3). 

Sonoma State concludes play at the Seawolf Spike tonight when they host Central Washington (2-1) at 7:00 pm.  Northwest Nazarene takes on Chico State (3-0) at 4:30 pm.

Box Score



Cal State Stanislaus defeats Grand Canyon, 3-1

ROHNERT PARK, Calif-  Led by a triple-double from Katie Hoag, Cal State Stanislaus picked up their first victory of the season with a 3-1 (31-29, 30-27, 30-32, 30-23) win over Grand Canyon on Saturday morning at the Seawolf Spike in Rohnert Park.  The Warriors improve to 1-2 while the Antelopes drop to 1-2.

Hoag finished with 13 kills, 15 digs, and 10 assists to lead a well-rounded Warrior attack.  Elizabeth Cameron and Kelli Costello paced the team with 16 and 15 kills respectively.  Karly Van Foeken added 14 kills and a team-high 21 digs.  Kayla Van Duyn guided the offense with 58 assists in addition to her 20 digs.

Dana Eddington led GCU with 12 kills.  Ashley Handley had 25 digs and Megan Taylor went for 45 assists in the third straight 3-1 loss of the tournament for the 'Lopes.

Cal State Stanislaus closes out tournament play later this afternoon when they take on Alaska (0-3).  Grand Canyon faces Cal State Monterey Bay this afternoon as well.



Cal State Monterey Bay defeats Alaska, 3-1

ROHNERT PARK, Calif-  Cal State Monterey Bay picked up their first win of the season with a 3-1 (30-23, 22-30, 30-20, 30-26) win over Alaska on Saturday afternoon at the Seawolf Spike in Rohnert Park.

The Otters got 13 kills from Brittany Etchings and another 12 from Courtney Taubet as they outhit the Nanooks .277 to .191 in the match.  Katie Bos continued her excellent play at libero, finishing with 20 digs.  Nicki Sanderson had 34 assists in a supporting role.

Jessica King had a game-high 20 kills for Alaska, but it wouldn't be enough.  Alexa Sherman came off the bench for a game-high 40 assists.

The Otters close out tourney play against Grand Canyon at 2:00 pm.  The Nanooks look for their first win against Cal State Stanislaus at 2:00 pm as well.


Chico State defeats Central Washington, 3-0

ROHNERT PARK, Calif-  Chico State got the upper hand in a battle of unbeatens on Saturday afternoon at the Seawolf Spike as they defeated Central Washington 3-1 (30-22, 30-14, 26-30, 30-20).  Lindsay Macias led the Wildcats with 15 kills in addition to 24 digs.

Macias was supported by a fine effort from Gillian Heydorff, who turned in 14 kills and 19 digs.  Jamie Houle had 11 kills to round out the three Wildcats in double figures.  Lacy Stringfellow had 33 digs and Erica Brick led the way with 47 assists.

Central Washington got 11 kills from Kristin Pasley and Rachael Schurman.  Schurman was also involved on seven blocks.  Lindsey Dollente went for 29 assists and 21 digs.

Chico State concludes Seawolf Spike action against Northwest Nazarene at 4:30 pm.  Central Washington will take on host Sonoma State at 7:00 pm.

Cal State Monterey Bay Defeats Grand Canyon, 3-0

ROHNERT PARK, Calif-  Though all three games were fairly close, Cal State Monterey Bay emerged with a 3-0 (30-24, 30-25, 30-28) sweep of Grand Canyon on Saturday evening at the Seawolf Spike in Rohnert Park.  The Otters close out the tournament at 2-2 after a pair of wins on Saturday while the Antelopes fall to 0-4.

Brittany Etchings had 12 kills and 14 digs to pace the Otters.  Nicki Sanderson guided the offense with 34 assists and Katie Bos was tops with 21 digs. 

Dana Edington supplied a 15-kill, 10-dig double-double for Grand Canyon in a losing cause.  Megan Taylor's 36 assists were a game-high and Ashley Handley was the 'Lopes leader with 16 digs.

Cal State Stanislaus Defeats Alaska, 3-0

ROHNERT PARK, Calif-  Cal State Stanislaus had little trouble with the Alaska Nanooks on Saturday afternoon as they rolled to a 3-0 (30-25, 30-18, 30-19) sweep.  The win evens out the Warriors' record at 2-2.  The Nanooks drop to 0-4.

The Nanooks struggled the whole game against a solid Stanislaus defense that held them to a hitting percentage of .018.  Alaska's leading hitter, Jenna Jones, finished with just six kills. 

Karly Van Foeken was the game leader with nine kills while Melanie Figueroa tied Van Foeken for game-high honors with 15 digs. 

Alaska got 14 digs from Miranda Trudeau and 11 digs from Jessica King.

Chico State Defeats Northwest Nazarene, 3-1

ROHNERT PARK, Calif-  Chico State got up two games, then held off a feisty Northwest Nazarene team down the stretch for a 3-1 (30-22, 30-21, 30-32, 30-24) win in their Seawolf Spike finale on Saturday afternoon in Rohnert Park.  The Wildcats become the tournament's first 4-0 team while the Crusaders dropped their second game of the day falling to 2-2 on the year.

For about an hour it looked like we might be witnessing a 3-0 Chico romp, but the Crusaders battled back to force a fourth game with a tense 32-30 win in game three.  Game four was tight before the Wildcats pulled away down the stretch.

Erica Brick was stellar, dishing out 49 assists to go along with seven kills, five service aces, and 17 digs.  Jamie Houle was the biggest benefactor of Brick's play as she came up with 21 kills and an impressive .474 hitting percentage.  Kelly Smiland picked up 22 digs and had ten kills as well.

Lindsey Fryer led a quartet of Crusaders in double digits with 12 kills.  She also led NNU with 16 digs.  Allison James had 37 assists and Cammy Dranginis was tops with eight blocks.