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Sonoma State University Athletics

Kelsey Hull and Rachel Andrews
Kelsey Hull (17) and Rachel Andrews (18) assisted on two blocks in Friday's semifinal win in Idaho.
3
Winner Sonoma State SSU 22-6
0
CSU San Bernardino CSUSB 21-7
Winner
Sonoma State SSU
22-6
3
Final
0
CSU San Bernardino CSUSB
21-7
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Sonoma State SSU 27 25 25 (3)
CSU San Bernardino CSUSB 25 22 17 (0)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | by Tyler Lobe, Sports Information Director

Seawolves Sweep Aside #22 Coyotes To Reach Regional Final

NAMPA, Idaho -- The Sonoma State volleyball team rallied from a four-point deficit late in the first set to win 27-25, building the momentum and setting the stage for an impressive three-set sweep over No. 6 seed and 22nd-ranked Cal State San Bernardino (27-25, 25-22, 25-17) on Friday evening in Nampa, Idaho. 

The No. 7 seed Seawolves (22-6) punch their ticket into the 2014 NCAA Division II West Region Final set for Saturday night against No. 8 seed Dixie State (22-8), which upset No. 5 seed BYU-Hawaii in four sets in the other semifinal on Friday. 

The Coyotes end their season at 21-7 and, in doing so, ends a 14-year streak of reaching the West Region final.

The winner of Saturday's regional championship will represent the West at the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championships on Dec. 4-6 at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky.

Click here to watch the postgame press conference with head coach Bear Grassl and senior Kelsey Hull.

In the opening set, the Seawolves jumped out to a quick 7-4 lead, but the Coyotes chipped away and eventually took a 12-11 lead.  Sonoma stormed right back to score four straight points, inducing a CSU San Bernardino timeout.  The Coyotes then recorded seven of the next eight points to take a 19-16 lead that eventually turned into a 22-18 advantage.  However, the Seawolves went on a 6-1 run to tie the set at 22-22.  Both teams would trade points until CSUSB held match-point at 25-24, but two kills from Caylie Seitz and a Coyote attack error gave SSU the 1-0 match lead with the 27-25 win.

Both teams would fight through 12 more ties and five more lead changes in the final two sets, but Sonoma State continued to hold the momentum to push them past Cal State San Bernardino and into the regional final with 25-22 and 25-17 victories.  In total, the match featured 23 ties and 13 lead changes.

Seitz led all players with 17 kills en route to a .400 hitting percentage.  Kelsey Hull hit .450 with 11 kills, adding seven digs, two blocks and a service ace.  Madelyn Densberger had eight kills and nine digs. 

Defensively, Kaitlyn Connolly led all players with 18 digs.  Ashley Robinson rejected four attacks, one of which was a solo block; she added five kills with one error in seven swings (.571) on offense.  Calan Seitz passed out 28 assists while Courtney Seda had 13 with five digs.  Rachel Andrews had five kills with no errors in nine attacks, including two blocks.

Cal State San Bernardino got 14 kills from Alexandra Torline, but the Sonoma State defense held the Coyotes to just 37 kills and a .200 hitting percentage.

Sonoma State will make an appearance in its second-ever NCAA West Region final -- the last time the Seawolves played for the regional championship was back in 2011 when SSU lost to host CSUSB in three sets.