CHICO, Calif. -- The Sonoma State volleyball team prevailed against rival Chico State for the second time in five days, but it took five sets and a come-from-behind effort by the Seawolves to remain perfect in CCAA play at 7-0 (13-3 overall).  The Wildcats fell to 8-9 (2-5 CCAA).   The scores were 19-25, 25-15, 21-25, 25-19, 15-9.

When a team plays it rival you always know a battle is going to occur.  After winning the first match last Friday, Sonoma State had the unlucky scheduling of having to drive three hours in the middle of the week.   Regardless of the challenges a championship type team faces this is what separates the pretenders from the contenders.

In the first set it was the home team who was clearly ready to compete as the Wildcats won convincingly.  The Wildcats had a lead of 21-11 before Sonoma State made any sort of a comeback to make the first set respectable on the scoreboard.

After shaking off their van legs Sonoma State wasn't ready to roll over just yet.   While the score was tight early, the Seawolves went on a huge run scoring 14-6 final points heading into the break.

The third set is always pivotal when the two teams split.  Chico State jumped out early with a 4-0, but for most of the rest of the set it was a point for point battle all the way up to 16-16.  This is when the home team really made their push and never gave up the lead after that point, and the home crowd really started to get into the match.

Once again, every excuse could have been used to give up, but in the four set, Sonoma State found a way to dig deep.  In a complete turn from the third game it was Sonoma State who found themselves locked up at 16-16 in the fourth game only to then to put the engine into the next gear and leaving Chico State in the dust.

In the fifth set, the match was a battle of runs where the Seawolves would jump ahead, and then the Wildcats would come back before Sonoma State went on more three point runs.  Eventually a hitting error by Chico State was the final nail in the coffin and a huge statement moving forward for who might be standing at the top of the North Division come the end of the season.   Junior middle Morgan Annala was a force to be reckoned with as she led the team with four kills in the final set, bringing her overall total to twelve on the evening, and an amazing .455 hitting percentage.   

The match was an explosive outburst with both teams having five players in double digit kills. Sonoma State finished the match hitting .306 while Chico State was impressive in its own right hitting .249.   Leading the charge for the Seawolves was sophomore outside hitter Caiti Wiesner who had sixteen kills on the night.  On the other side Chico State was led by Senior outside hitter, and 1st team All-CCAA member Olivia Mediano who tallied fourteen kills on the evening.

After the match Head Coach Bear Grassl commented "Tonight was a hard fought win. Chico served great, and that forced us out of system early. We really buckled down and our ball handling improved. It was a back and forth match between two good teams, and happy we stayed so composed in the fifth."

OTHER STATS OF INTEREST:

• Senior Setter led the Seawolves with 56 assists on the evening averaging 11.2 per set
• Defensively three players had double digit digs led by Sophomore libero Megan Bohorquez who had 20 on the evening.
• Freshman right-side hitter Amy Trephan and Junior middle Morgan Annala both accumulated three blocks on the evening.
• Senior Middle Hitter Kelsey McIntire offensively was 2nd on the team with 13 kills, but more importantly hit .458 on the evening.
• The front line blocking battle was completely dominated by Sonoma State 12-6, and the back line/floor defensive battle was also won by Sonoma State 74-65.

WHAT'S UP NEXT:

In what is a big week for the Seawolves they have two more road matches that are coming up fast.  On Friday Sonoma State travels to Cal State East Bay with match time set for 7:00 PM, and then back at it on Saturday night vs. Cal State Monterey Bay who Sonoma State split with last season.  Both teams are now directly behind Sonoma State in 2nd and 3rd place in the North Division, and both have an overall identical record of (9-5) as of Tuesday night.