ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – The Sonoma State volleyball team clinched their spot in the CCAA Tournament on Thursday night with a 3-1 victory over Cal State LA. The Seawolves moved to 10-7 in conference play on the season and slid back into the fifth spot in the standings.
SSU fell behind early, trailing for most of the first set as the Golden Eagles took a 1-0 advantage with a 25-19 win. The Seawolves used a late run in the set to build momentum for the rest of the match, winning four straight points while facing set-point.
Sonoma State took an early lead in the second with the first three points and later led 9-6. From there the two teams traded the lead several times with Cal State LA taking a 21-19 advantage late in the set.
Jenn Trephan and
Emily Eaton recorded back-to-back kills to tie the score before a Golden Eagles point made it 22-21. Trephan would tally the next two points and Eaton would later end the set with a kill of her own to even the match at 1-1.
The third set started with both teams trading the lead and CSULA leading 9-7.
Kiana Richardson then recorded a kill and
Brynna Slayton notched back-to-back aces to put the Seawolves ahead. They would not look back from there, leading the rest of the way thanks to four kills from Eaton and a pair from
Amy Trephan. SSU took the game 25-19 with 14 kills and three aces.
The Seawolves put the match away in the fourth, holding off a late rally by the Golden Eagles. With the score tied 10-10, SSU used a five-point run to take a 15-10 advantage. Sonoma would go ahead 22-21 but a 5-0 run by the visitors made it a one-point game. After a point by the Seawolves, Cal State LA tied the score at 23-23. They would then record a serving error and an attacking error to clinch the victory for the Seawolves.
Sonoma State held a 53-44 kill advantage for the game while also leading 12-10 in aces. Eaton finished with a team best 17 kills while
Jenn Trephan just missed a triple-double. She recorded 26 assists, 12 digs and nine kills on the night. Richardson tacked on 13 kills and
Riley Beyma added a match high 19 digs.
The Seawolves close out the regular season on Saturday with a match against Cal State Dominguez Hills at 3:00 pm. It will also be Senior Day for Sonoma State as they honor their three seniors with a ceremony before the game.
