BOX SCORE: Sonoma State 3, #12 UC San Diego 1

ROHNERT PARK, Calif- Ally Sather led all attackers with 20 kills and posted a .364 hitting percentage, helping Sonoma State to upset No. 12 UC San Diego, 3-1 (25-13, 25-23, 19-25, 25-18), on Saturday night at The Wolves Den. The Seawolves (11-3, 8-1 CCAA) snapped a five-match losing streak to the Tritons (10-2, 6-2), which included a loss in the first round of last year's NCAA tournament in San Bernardino. SSU is now a half-game back of first place Cal State San Bernardino, heading into a season-long five-match road trip.

The Seawolves had all-around effort up and down the lineup, leading the Tritons in most statistical categories. Sonoma State hit .275 while holding UC San Diego to just .162 on offense. SSU also led in kills (59-44), assists (57-39) and digs (75-65). Kelsey Hull slammed 14 kills to the floor, in addition to Keala Peterson's contribution of 12 kills. Peterson also recorded a double-double, making 14 digs. Hayley Ross passed out a career-high 50 assists and added 14 digs, two blocks and a service ace. Regan Richert had a huge night defensively, stuffing six UC San Diego attacks, one of which a solo block. In all, Sonoma State had nine team blocks.

It didn't take long for the Seawolves to find their rhythm, jumping out to a gigantic 12-2 lead. When all was said and done, Sonoma State set the tone early with a dominating 25-13 win in the opening set.

The second frame proved to the the closest of the night, with several ties and lead changes at the end. The Tritons would lead 9-4 in the early going, forcing a Seawolf timeout. The UCSD advantage would extend to seven points at 16-9 before SSU went on a tear, scoring nine of the next 10 points to take an 18-17 lead. Both teams would trade points before the Tritons could string together a three-point run to lead 22-19 and induce another Seawolf timeout.

Whatever head coach Bear Grassl said in the conference, worked. A kill by Peterson and a block by Ross and Richert got the hosts to within one point at 22-21. UCSD's Hillary Williamson pounded a kill home to go up 23-21, but Sather took over scoring three of the next four Sonoma State points to earn the come-from-behind 25-23 win and a 2-0 match lead.

The third set was all UC San Diego, sprinting to a 13-4 lead and never looking back. The Seawolves, however, made things interesting and got to within four points at 23-19, but a SSU service error -- one of 11 for the Seawolves on Saturday -- and an ace by Triton outside hitter Katie Condon, sealed the 25-19 win to force a fourth set.

Both teams battled early in the fourth and found themselves knotted at 6-6. Two kills by Sather, two by Brooke Moore and another by Ross put the Seawolves in front 11-6. The Tritons chipped away at the lead, trailing by just four points at 14-10, but Sonoma State again regained its composure and held off UC San Diego for the 25-18 set win and 3-1 match victory.

The Tritons were led by the 15 kills of Williamson and 11 of Condon. Roxanne Brunsting and Amber Hawthorne shared time at setter, giving out 18 and 17 assists, respectively. Brunsting and Janessa Werhane had a team-high 18 digs each.

Sonoma State will now embark on the longest road swing of the year, starting with a trip south to face Cal Poly Pomona on Friday at 7:00 p.m. The Seawolves' travel itinerary will also take them to San Francisco State (Oct. 8), Cal State Stanislaus (Oct. 14), Chico State (Oct. 15) and Humboldt State (Oct. 19) before returning back home to host Cal State East Bay on Oct. 21.