BOX SCORE Sonoma State def. Chico State 3-2 (23-25, 20-25, 25-17, 25-15, 15-10) -- Box Score
ROHNERT PARK -- Ally Sather had a team-high 16 kills and
Regan Richert had 14 kills with a .500 hitting percentage as the Sonoma State women's volleyball team overcame a 2-0 match deficit to defeat visiting Chico State, 3-2 (23-25, 20-25, 25-17, 25-15, 15-10) on Saturday night in The Wolves' Den. The Seawolves, who didn't commit an attack error in the final two sets, have won six straight matches, improving to 17-6 overall and 11-4 in the CCAA. The Wildcats fall to 14-8 (8-7 CCAA).
Five Sonoma State players recorded double-digit kills, led by the 16 from Sather -- Richert,
Caylie Seitz,
Madelyn Densberger and
Kelsey Hull also pounded 10 or more kills in the victory and
Nicole Gragnola led all defenders with 27 digs. As a team, the Seawolves hit at a .324 clip, despite hitting just .170 in the opening set. In fact, from the second set on, SSU was unstoppable, hammering 58 kills with just six errors in 138 swings, a .377 clip.
The first two sets would be a back-and-forth battle that would feature 16 ties and five lead changes, but Chico State would hold the lead for most of the opening two frames. In the first set, no team would lead by more than three points until the Wildcats snatched a four-point lead at 15-11, forcing a Seawolf timeout. However, SSU would crawl back to within one at 15-14 before both teams would begin to trade points, but Chico was able to fend off a feisty Sonoma team for the 25-23 win. In the second frame after a 14-14 deadlock, the Wildcats would pull ahead and again hold off the Seawolves for a 25-20 win and the 2-0 match lead. Despite the loss, it would be Sonoma's second-most efficient set of the night, as the team hit .361, and the hot hitting would continue from then on.
After a 3-3 tie to open the third set, the Seawolves jumped out to a four-point lead at 8-4 and would remain no less than two points ahead of the Wildcats the rest of the way, even extending their lead to as much as 23-14 before claiming the 25-17 win to cut the deficit to 2-1. Another see-saw battle would play out for the fans in attendance, but at 11-10 in Sonoma State's favor, the Seawolves would begin to pull away, going on a 14-5 run to win 25-15 and force the deciding fifth set.
It was no secret that the fifth set would be exhausting, and it had its share of excitement for both teams. Neither team led by more than two points until Sonoma State rallied to pull ahead by three points at 12-9. Chico's Alex Shurtz, who led all hitters with 20 kills on the night, brought her team back to within two points at 12-10, but three straight kills by Seitz gave Sonoma the 15-10 win and the come-from-behind victory. The Seawolves smashed 26 kills with no errors in 65 attacks in the fourth and fifth sets, which proved to be too much for the Wildcat defense.
Hayley Ross and
Devin Shaver again split time at the setter position, handing out 35 and 26 assists, repectively. In addition to Gragnola's 27 digs, Densberger enjoyed another double-double night with 15 digs and her aforementioned 13 kills, and Hull had 10 digs, also a double-double effort with her 11 kills.
For Chico State, Shurtz and Ellie Larronde accounted for 40 of the team's 62 kills, while Lindsay Quigley chipped in with nine kills. Defensively for the Wildcats, four players had double-digit digs, led by the 22 by Jessica Simms.
Sonoma State will play its final three home matches of the season this upcoming week, starting with a Wednesday night contest against San Francisco State. First serve on Halloween from The Wolves' Den is set for 7:00 p.m.
