BOX SCORE Sonoma State def. Cal State East Bay 3-1 (25-20, 27-29, 25-18, 25-22) -- Box Score
HAYWARD, Calif. -- Caylie Seitz slammed a match-high 17 kills to the hardwood and
Ally Sather added 14 with a .303 hitting percentage as the Sonoma State women's volleyball team earned a 3-1 victory over host Cal State East Bay on Friday night at Pioneer Gym in Hayward. Winners of three straight, the Seawolves improve to 14-6 overall and 8-4 in the CCAA, moving into sole possession of fourth place in the conference standings. The Pioneers fall to 7-12 (2-10 CCAA).
Both teams got off to a relatively cold start in the opening set as neither squad would hit above .200. However, SSU would hold an edge in kills (14-13) and hitting percentage (.195-.190) to claim the 25-20 win and hold the early 1-0 match lead.
The second set would prove to be the toughest of the night for Sonoma State and Cal State East Bay; both teams endured 16 ties and five lead changes as the back-and-forth battle would force the set into extra points to determine a winner. The Seawolves trailed by two points at 23-21, but three straight points would give the visitors set point at 24-23. The Pioneers then responded with two consecutive points to lead 25-24 and the set became a see-saw battle from that point on. Thanks to two kills by Seitz and another by
Kelsey Hull, albeit a successful attack by CSUEB's Nicole Boyle, SSU again held set point, this time at 27-26, but a Pioneer kill by Nikki Long, a Seawolf attack error and a Pioneer service ace by Danielle Stewart evened the match at one set apiece with a 29-27 win by Cal State East Bay.
After a 10-minute intermission, Sonoma State came out on fire, torching the hosts with 18 kills and a .531 attack percentage, erring just once in 32 attacks to pull away in the third set with a 25-18 win and a 2-1 match lead. In the fourth frame, it would be another close battle, but Cal State East Bay would eventually grab a 19-18 lead, wanting to force a deciding fifth set. The Seawolves had other plans, though, scoring five of the next six points to lead 23-20. The Pioneers rallied for two straight points to come within one, but a kill by Seitz and an attack error by CSUEB's Jade Sanford clinched the match victory for SSU with a 25-22 win.
Sonoma State, which leads the CCAA in hitting percentage at .254, 21 percentage points more than UC San Diego at .233, sported a .288 clip on Friday against Cal State East Bay. Hull was the only other SSU player with double-digit kills, hammering 12 to the gym floor while making 12 digs.
Madelyn Densberger chipped in with eight kills and three service aces, while recording a team-high 13 digs.
Nicole Gragnola made 12 digs and
Regan Richert, to go along with eight kills, made three assisted blocks and one solo stop.
Cal State East Bay got 16 kills from Suzy Ni Xu and nine from both Sanford and Hannah Bell, the Pioneers hit .259 as a team. Defensively, Boyle led all players with 20 digs, followed by Veronica Sanchez with 19 digs.
Sonoma State wraps up its brief two-game road swing around the bay with a Saturday night match at Cal State Monterey Bay. First serve from the Kelp Bed is set for 7:00 p.m.
