BOX SCORE #12 Sonoma State 3, Humboldt State 0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-21) -- Box Score
ROHNERT PARK -- Caylie Seitz smashed 21 kills and hit .459 to lead the 12th-ranked Sonoma State volleyball team to its eighth consecutive victory on Saturday night with a 3-0 sweep of visiting Humboldt State in The Wolves' Den. The Seawolves are off to the best start through 17 games in program history, rising to 15-2 overall and 8-1 in the CCAA. The Lumberjacks fall to an even 8-8 overall (3-6 CCAA).
Seitz led an enormous offensive attack on the Humboldt State defense as Sonoma State blasted 52 kills in the three sets combined, the fifth-best output in a three-set match in school history. With a .368 hitting percentage, it is the 10th time this season the Seawolves have hit .300 or better.
Madelyn Densberger hit .370 with 11 kills and
Kelsey Hull hit .333 with 10 kills.
Defensively,
Nicole Gragnola recorded a match-high 14 digs and Hull added 12 while
Rachel Andrews stuffed five attacks, one of which was a solo stop.
Ashley Robinson blocked three attempts, two of the solo variety.
Although SSU came away with the win in straight sets, Humboldt State made the hosts work for it -- the Lumberjacks forced 13 ties and five lead changes throughout the night. In the first set, HSU reeled off four straight points to come within one point at 15-14, but after the teams traded points, the Seawolves scored nine of the next 11 points to take a 1-0 match lead with the 25-17 win.
It was the same story in set two as the 'Jacks trailed by one at 12-11, but the Seawolves would again pull away and take the 2-0 lead with a 25-16 win in the frame. The third set would prove to be the closest of the night as Humboldt State jumped out to a 10-5 lead, but seven straight points put Sonoma State back on top 12-10. The teams would go back and forth, but tied at 18-18, back-to-back kills by
Regan Richert and Densberger put SSU ahead for good en route to a 25-21 match-clinching victory.
Humboldt State's Ashley Owen led her team with 13 kills, hitting .300, while Kaitlyn Dunaway added 10 in the losing effort.
Sonoma State now heads out on the road for the next two weekends, starting with a matchup at Cal State East Bay next Friday (Oct. 18), followed by a trip to Seaside on Oct. 19 to face Cal State Monterey Bay. The second half of the conference season will then begin on Oct. 25-26 with a pair of tough matches against UC San Diego and Cal State San Bernardino on back-to-back nights, both teams also ranked in the national poll.
