ROHNERT PARK, Calif- Sonoma State jumped out to a commanding 2-0 match lead but UC San Diego's Sylvia Schmidt went off for 31 kills to help the Tritons foil the Seawolves' upset bid on Saturday night at The Wolves' Den. Sonoma State fell to 15-4 overall and 7-4 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Tritons, meanwhile, kept their nine match win streak alive and improved to 10-1 in the CCAA and 18-1 overall.

The Seawolves, who are 17-2 in the first set this season, rode the seven kills by freshman Ally Sather to cruise to a 25-21 victory in set one. In set two, the Tritons and Seawolves battled it out and despite the 11 kills  by Schmidt, Sonoma State took advantage of several unforced errors by UC San Diego down the stretch to win the set, 30-28, and take the 2-0 match lead.

In the third set, the Seawolves got a wake up call and fell behind 12-2 before head coach Bear Grassl pulled his starters to allow them to regroup. Sonoma State only managed four kills on 30 attempts in the set and UC San Diego took advantage by hitting at a .467 clip with 14 kills in 30 attacks with no errors to steal the Seawolves' momentum, the set victory (25-7) and close the SSU match lead to 2-1.

Schmidt then carried the Tritons in the fourth set with eight of the Tritons 18 kills to even the match at two sets apiece. Then, in the deciding fifth set, the Tritons pulled out all the stops, sprinting out to a 10-1 lead and the Seawolves never recovered, falling 15-6.

The 31 kills by Schmidt were the most given up by the Seawolves all season and Hillary Williamson added a double-double with 13 kills and 15 digs. The Tritons defense had a huge game, compiling 20 assisted blocks at the net and Roxanne Brunsting had 20 digs on the UCSD back line. Elaine Chen passed out a game-high 57 assists.

For Sonoma State, Sather and sophomore Keala Peterson combined for 32 of the Seawolves' 45 kills as the team only hit a season-low .123 for the match. Senior Lindsay Brown handed out 38 assists, sophomore Taylor Krenwinkel and senior Ali Walker led the team with 21 digs each and Peterson added 17 as the Seawolves dug a season-high 98 balls. Senior Rikki Buckshnis had a big game at the net, blocking five attacks.

The Seawolves, who are now 0-28 against teams ranked in the top five of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll in their history, are now 20-115 against teams in the top 25, including 0-2 this season.

Sonoma State will hit the road for a three-match road trip, starting with a match up at Cal State L.A. on Friday. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Los Angeles. The Seawolves will then take on Cal State Dominguez Hills next Saturday and Humboldt State on 10/21 before returning home on 10/23 for their final homestand of 2009 to host Cal State Monterey Bay.

Box Score: #3 UC San Diego 3, #17 Sonoma State 2

Webcast:  Watch the archive on The Seawolf Sports Network