(Written by Aryssa Carvalho, SSU Sports Information Intern)

ROHNERT PARK -- With five regular season matches left and a possible CCAA title on the horizon, fifth-year senior Ashley Robinson and the first-place Sonoma State volleyball team has one thought on their mind.

"Since we are in first place, at this point, we have control over our own destiny," said Robinson.

For the past eight seasons (and in 11 of the last 13), national powerhouse Cal State San Bernardino has run away with the coveted conference banner.  Only three other teams (UC San Diego, Cal State L.A. and Cal Poly Pomona) since 2001 have been crowned the CCAA champions, but UCSD in 2004 is the only other team besides CSUSB to capture the title outright -- CSULA and CPP were co-champions in 2005.

Sonoma State has never been atop the CCAA standings this late in the season.  With five matches left to play and a one-half game lead over the eight-time defending champion Coyotes, the sprint to the finish line for the Seawolves has never been so heated.

How and why the Seawolves have been so successful, not only this year, but in recent years?

"We work well as a team," Robinson explained.  "The starters, we are really good friends and I think that's why we are able to do so well together.  We have great team chemistry."
 
It also helps to have a coach that they love.
 
"Bear's motto for us is 'happy girls play better' -- he just wants us to be happy," said Robinson.  "He cares about us as people, not just about winning on the court."
 
With a lot at stake, however, Robinson is just thrilled to be on this successful team.  Being hurt at the beginning of the season, the native of Ripon, Calif., was concerned with not being able to play her senior season, but she worked through the pain of her ACL injury and plans to have surgery as soon as the semester is over.

Robinson will graduate at the end of the fall semester and plans on attending grad school.  She will also be coaching a travel volleyball team that consists of 15 year-olds.  She will be staying in Sonoma County, in which she now calls home, since her parents recently made Napa their newest residency.
 
 But before Robinson and her fellow senior teammates Kelsey Hull and Regan Richert secure that diploma and ventures into the real world, they hope that they can secure at least one more thing -- the first CCAA championship in program history.

The Seawolves will be in The Wolves' Den tonight and tomorrow night at 7:00 pm for their final home matches of the regular season, facing off Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey Bay, respectively.