ROHNERT PARK, Calif- Sonoma State dominated from start to finish and behind the 13 kills of
Ally Sather and 12 from
Keala Peterson, the Seawolves took revenge upon San Francisco State for a loss earlier this season by sweeping the Gators convincingly at The Wolves' Den on Saturday night. The win puts the 20th-ranked Seawolves at 19-5 overall and 11-5 in conference play. The Gators fell to 16-7 (9-6 CCAA).
Sonoma State wasted no time building a huge first set lead, sprinting out to a 10-3 lead. Sather set the tone for the Seawolves with seven kills in 13 attempts and
Taylor Krenwinkel did all she could on defense, amounting 10 digs, as Sonoma State held San Francisco State to just nine points in the opening set and went on to take the easy 25-9 win.
The second set was more of the same; however, Sonoma State cooled off from hitting .452 in the first set to .345 in frame number two but managed to control the match in all facets of the game, winning the second set 25-11.
The Gators put the pressure on in the final set, forcing seven ties and three lead changes but it was the Seawolves who pulled ahead late to take the 25-20 win in set three and the 3-0 match sweep for the second sweep in as many nights.
Sather and Peterson's combined 25 kills led Sonoma State to a .343 overall hitting percentage for the game and
Rikki Buckshnis added six kills.
Ali Walker (five kills),
Sarah Illingworth (four kills) and
Lindsay Brown (four kills) supplied the rest of the offense for the Seawolves. Peterson also matched a season-high five aces at the service line and completed a double-double with 10 digs. Brown handed out 33 assists.
For San Francisco State, nine players recorded kills and Beth Perkins and Lauren Walsh led the team in kills with five apiece. Sonoma State held the Gators to just .071, the lowest this season by a Seawolf opponent.
Sonoma State, ranked number 20 in last week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, will wrap up its four-match home streak next weekend with a pair of matches against third-ranked Cal State San Bernardino (Friday) and Cal Poly Pomona (Saturday). Saturday's match will mark the last career home match for four Seawolves -- Buckshnis, Walker, Brown and Illingworth -- and each will be honored in a pre-game ceremony.
Box Score: #20 Sonoma State 3, San Francisco State 0
