BOX SCORE No. 18 Western Washington 3, No. 23 Sonoma State 1 -- Box Score

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. --  The finale of the 2012 Seawolf Spike lived up to all the hype.  In a battle of two nationally-ranked teams, the match that everyone had circled on the tournament schedule did not disappoint as the Vikings needed to go to extras in two of the sets to earn a hard-fought 22-25, 25-23, 33-31, 26-24 victory.  The 18th-ranked Vikings got 25 kills from Marlayna Geary on the night as they improve to 7-1.  Sonoma State, ranked 23rd in the nation, falls to 6-2.

Though it was close the entire way, Sonoma had the upperhand for most of the first set.  The teams were tied at 17 and Western was within one at 22-21, but three Caylie Seitz kills closed things out for the Seawolves.

The second set was the opposite of the first, with Western Washington holding a narrow advantage throughout.  Down 22-19, the Seawolves got three straight to knot the set at 22 before the Vikings pulled away.

Tied up at one, both teams turned up the intensity in set three.  The result was a battle not soon to be forgotten.  Sonoma would open up a four-point lead at 15-11, but Western quickly closed the gap, eventually tying the match at 16-16 on a Geary service ace.  The Seawolves jumped back on top 18-16, only to be answered again by two straight Viking points.  Again, the Seawolves would try stretch Western, going up 21-19 on a kill by Ally Sather and a Western Washington error, but once more the Vikings would find a reply, tying it at 21.

From that point on, the teams wouldn't be more than one point apart.  Western Washington would have six set points and Sonoma State would have four before the Vikings finally put the set away with a service ace from Laurie Yearout.

With the momentum clearly shifting after such an emotional roller coaster of a set, the Vikings seemed to be on their way after they went up 12-6 early in the fourth.  Of course, Sonoma had different plans, reeling off five points of their own to draw within one.  The set would stay within two points and would feature eight ties before the Vikings could finally string together two points and steal the set and the match. 

Geary would finish the night with 25 kills on her way to Seawolf Spike MVP honors.  She had just three errors and also supplied three blocks and 14 digs.  Samantha Hutchinson had 33 digs and Laurie Yearout posted 58 assists.  Both joined Geary on the All-Tournament Team. 

The Seawolves were led by 18 kills from Ally Sather, 17 from Kelsey Hull, and 15 from Caylie Seitz.  Hull's big night included 16 digs as she was named to the All-Tournament team along with libero Nicole Gragnola (24 digs).

Joining the Vikings and Seawolves on the All-Tournament team were Alex Shurtz of Chico State and Danielle Dahle of UC San Diego.

Four teams tied for the top record in the tournament at 3-1 - Sonoma State, Western Washington, Chico State, and UC San Diego.  Central Washington finished 2-2, Cal State Stanislaus and Seattle Pacific were 1-3, and Dominican was 0-4.

The Seawolves conclude non-conference play with a 6-2 record.  They'll open up California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play next Friday against Cal State Monterey Bay. 

SEAWOLF SPIKE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM