BOX SCORE #22 Cal State San Bernardino 3, #18 Sonoma State 0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-19) -- Box Score
ROHNERT PARK -- Looking for its first win over Cal State San Bernardino since 1997, the Sonoma State women's volleyball team got off to a quick start early on and held a lead for much of the opening frame, but the visiting Coyotes came storming back to win the first set and their momentum continued the rest of the night as the Seawolves suffered a three-set loss in a matchup of two nationally-ranked teams on Friday night at The Wolves' Den in Rohnert Park.
Sonoma State (7-2, 0-1 CCAA), the 18th-ranked team in the nation, have now lost 33 straight matches to CCAA-foe Cal State San Bernardino (5-4, 1-0 CCAA), which entered the night ranked 22nd in Division II.
The CSUSB offense was nearly unstoppable on Friday night, slamming 46 kills to the floor, erring just eight times in 102 attacks, a hitting percentage of .373 -- the highest allowed by an SSU defense in a single match since 2010. While Ashley Solis led all players with 12 kills and Alexandra Torline added 11, it was the hot hand of Brenna McIntosh that hit at a blazing .769 clip with 10 kills and no errors in 13 swings. Defensively, the Coyotes were almost just as dominant, stuffing 12 total SSU attacks, including five solo and 14 assisted blocks. In fact, not only was McIntosh on fire offensively, she added four solo blocks in the visitors' win. Arielle McCullough also made a match-high 24 digs.
Madelyn Densberger, the reigning national player of the week,
Caylie Seitz and
Kelsey Hull each recorded 10 kills for Sonoma State, but no one would hit better than .260 on the night. As a team, Sonoma State tallied a .181 clip. Densberger and
Nicole Gragnola tied for team-high honors with 12 digs while
Hayley Ross added 11 digs and 18 assists.
The Seawolves got off to a quick start, taking an early 12-6 lead, but the Coyotes would slowly chip away at their deficit. Down 19-16 after two straight SSU points, CSU San Bernardino head coach Kim Cherniss called a timeout before her Coyotes went on a 9-4 run to claim the 25-23 set victory and the match's momentum. The second set would feature six ties and two lead changes, but CSUSB emerged with a two-set lead after a 25-21 win. Sonoma State seemed to run out of gas in the third, falling behind 18-8 before a small rally saw the hosts come to within five points at 22-17. However, the Coyotes closed out the match with three of the next five points to secure their 33rd straight win over the Seawolves.
During the 33-match losing streak to Cal State San Bernardino, Sonoma State has been outscored 99-6.
Sonoma State will look to rebound on Saturday night, but another tough opponent will enter The Wolves' Den, eighth-ranked UC San Diego, which remains undefeated this season after a sweep of San Francisco State on Friday. The Tritons (9-0, 1-0 CCAA) have won 27 of 29 sets played this season.
