(Courtesy of BYU-Hawaii Sports Information)

LAIE, Hawaii – No. 12 Sonoma State women's volleyball rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat No. 11 BYU-Hawaii in five sets (25-17, 22-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-12) in the third game of the Hawaii Invitational Tournament on Friday in the Cannon Activities Center in Laie, Hawaii.

Sonoma State grabbed the early momentum in the first set with a 4-1 run with a strong offensive attack. The Seawolves slowly built a six-point cushion, but the Seasiders battled back with a quick three-point run to close the gap to 14-11. It was the closest they would get, as Sonoma State kept its distance and ended the set on a 5-1 run.

Brittany Waite got off to a strong start in the second with a kill and Leilani Adolpho added an ace to give BYU-Hawaii its first lead of the match at 5-3. The Seawolves kept the set close until a 5-1 run featuring two service aces by Sinamoni Tonga widened the gap to 12-8. Sonoma State responded late in the set with a 5-1 run of their own to cut the lead to one at 23-22, but Waite answered with back-to-back kills to seal the 25-22 victory for BYU-Hawaii.

The third set began with the teams trading points until the Seasiders used a four-point run powered by a pair of kills from Ying Chun (Michelle) Chen and Tonga to take a 10-7 lead. BYU-Hawaii was able to pull ahead by six late in the set, but Sonoma State charged back with  an 8-2 run to take the lead. A kill and ace by Chen propelled BYU-Hawaii back into the lead and Kathleen Collette Kalougata ended it with a kill.

The teams traded points at the beginning of the fourth set as they struggled to gain control of the ball. Sonoma State took the lead, but the Seasiders answered back with a 5-1 run that included an ace from Chen and two Tonga kills to make it 10-9 in their favor. Seesaw scoring continued and the Seawolves used a late three-point run to grab the 24-19 lead. BYU-Hawaii came back within two, but was Sonoma State closed out the set with a kill by Caylie Seitz.

The battle continued in the fifth set, where each team traded points until the Seawolves went on a 7-2 run to end the match.

The Seawolves' (2-1) Seitz recorded a match-high 23 kills to lead her team to the victory.

BYU-Hawaii recorded eight service aces and 83 digs compared to the Seawolves' three and 78.

Sonoma State wraps up the three-day Hawaii Invitational on Saturday against Chaminade at 4:00 pm Pacific Time (1:00 pm Hawaii Time).