BOX SCORE: Sonoma State 3, Cal State East Bay 2
HAYWARD, Calif- Down 2-1 in the match, Sonoma State rallied to force a fifth set with a convincing 25-17 win in the fourth frame over host Cal State East Bay. With their unbeaten conference record on the line, the Seawolves, who trailed 9-8 in the deciding set, scored five of the next six points and eventually held off the Pioneers for the 15-11 win and the ultimate 3-2 match victory. SSU (7-2, 5-0 CCAA) remains one of three teams left in the CCAA to be undefeated in conference play while CSUEB falls to 6-2 (2-2 CCAA).
Keala Peterson again led all players with 16 kills, three of which came in the final set. She hit at a .183 clip and recorded her second straight double-double with 13 digs.
Kelsey Hull hammered 15 kills, including seven in the first set.
Taylor Krenwinkel inched closer to the all-time digs record, making 29 digs on Saturday. She needs just 11 to break the mark of 1,704.
As mentioned above, it was the
Kelsey Hull show in the opening frame, slamming seven kills to the floor as Sonoma State grabbed the early 1-0 match lead with the 25-18 win. It was extremely close in the second set, but the Seawolves would hold a narrow 18-17 lead late. However, the Pioneers would reel of eight of the next ten points to knot the match at one apiece.
With a chance to take a 2-1 match lead, Cal State East Bay capitalized on a six-point run early in the third to grab a 13-7 advantage. SSU managed to get within four points at 23-19, but it was too little, too late and CSUEB won 25-20 and was on the verge of handing the Seawolves their first conference loss.
Just like in the three previous sets, neither team could pull away from each other. That is until Sonoma State, leading 18-17 despite two previous points by Cal State East Bay, scored seven unanswered points to force to win 25-17 and force the deciding fifth set. Again, neither team could pull away each other, showing the resiliency of both teams. The Seawolves and Pioneers would never lead by more than one point at any time until SSU, trailing 9-8, scored four straight points to lead 12-9 and force two CSUEB timeouts. Out of the timeout, Cal State East Bay scored two of the next three points, but a kill by
Hayley Ross and a Pioneer attack error deflated the hometown crowd and gave Sonoma State the 15-11 match-clinching victory.
The Seawolves hit 12 percentage points better than the Pioneers (.198-.186) despite the fact that Cal State East Bay had more team blocks (9-5) than Sonoma State did. Krenwinkel tied a match-high with the aforementioned 29 digs, leading four other Seawolves with double-digit digs.
Ally Sather also had another big night on offense, hammering 13 kills. Ross handed out 48 assists.
For Cal State East Bay, Kitona Offord led her team with 14 kills and Nikki Long had 10. Leslie Ray matched Krenwinkel on defense with 29 digs.
Sonoma State will step outside of conference play on Tuesday and host Dominican at 7:00 p.m. at The Wolves' Den. It will kick off a season-long five-match homestand as the Seawolves will welcome Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A. into Rohnert Park on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
