ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. - On September 10th Sonoma State played host in their very own Seawolves Classic as they would compete in four games in the two-day span against Dominican, Chico State, Academy of Art, and Holy Names. The Seawolves would also be hosting matches for fellow CCAA members Humboldt State and Chico State on the weekend tournament. The SSU volleyball team would take on PacWest opponent Dominican University as they looked for their first win of the season in their home debut. 

Grassl and the Seawolves would start off the match strong with a 25-20 victory in the first set. Half way through the first set the Seawolves would begin to gain some momentum with kills from Kiana Richardson and Jessie Hobbs. SSU went on a 5-0 scoring streak after being down 10-13 to regain the lead 14-13. After Dominican made it a two point game late in the set, the Seawolves would pull away with three straight points, two kills and an ace from Riley Beyma, to secure the set. 

Dominican would bounce back and win a nail biter in the second set, 25-22. After settling down, the Seawolves would win convincingly in the third set, 25-15, giving themselves the opportunity to close out the match in four sets. The potential highlight of the match came in that convincing third set where freshman Brynna Slayton took over as server and earned the Seawolves 8 straight points! During that stretch, Slayton recorded 5 aces helping to extend their lead 19-11! Slayton would lead all players with 6 aces in the match.   

The fourth set would come down to the final points once again as both teams were knotted at 24 apiece. The Seawolves would take the edge but only for a brief moment until Dominican tied it back up at 25. After a two point swing from the Penguins, SSU found themselves down 26-27 and facing match point. Head coach Bear Grassl and the Seawolves would rally to score the next three points on kills from Emily Eaton and Jenn Trephan and then an ace from senior Emily Eaton to win the set 29-27 and take the match 3-1! 

The Seawolves led the match in every major statistical category including kills, blocks, assists and aces. Jessie Hobbs and Kiana Richardson both recorded double digit kills for Sonoma State while Jenn Trephan led all players with 26 assists. Second year player Riley Beyma also contributed with a game high 17 digs. Sonoma State would await rival Chico State later that night to close out the first day of the Seawolves Classic. 

The showdown was on, both Chico State and Sonoma State won their first games earlier in the day and the historic rivalry set up for a great nightcap on the first day of the Seawolves Classic. Head coach Bear Grassl had his group dialed in from the start as the Seawolves picked up right where they left off. SSU jumped out to a 19-11 lead in the first set after scoring 7 straight points. Jenn Trephan, Kiana Richardson, and Emily Eaton all got in on the action with kills during that stretch. 

After Chico went on a run of their own, they would pull to within two points nearing the end of the set. However, SSU had enough momentum to take the first set thanks to a kill from Jenn Trephan and an ace from Leilani Hallman. The momentum would change in the second set, however, as Chico went on a deep run early forcing timeouts from coach Grassl and making it an uphill battle for the remainder of the set. Sonoma and Chico would finish tied after two sets of play. 

As the crowd grew inside The Wolves' Den, the third set lived up to the hype as the winner had to be decided after the 25-point mark. The Seawolves scratched and clawed their way through the set but found themselves down 25-24 needing the next point to stay alive. Jenn Trephan would deliver once again with an ace to knot the game at 25 and extend the set. Chico would grab the next point but only to spark a 3-0 run from the Seawolves to take the third set! Amy Trephan and Jessie Hobbs delivered the final blows to win the third set 28-26. 

The fourth set was yet another back and forth affair as both teams were knotted at 22 apiece. A momentous kill from outside hitter Kiana Richardson would help catapult the Seawolves to the match victory as they would go on to score 2 of the last 3 points to win the set 25-23. Aces and blocks proved crucial once again in tonight's match as Angel Gamboa had a game high 5 aces while Jenn Trephan and Jessie Hobbs each combined for 12 blocks. Trephan would also lead SSU with 28 assists.  

Emily Eaton and Kiana Richardson each recorded 15 kills in the match. Riley Beyma was another staple for the Seawolves recording a game high 12 digs. Through 6 games Beyma leads the team with 76 digs. 

The Seawolves have now won two straight and are 2-4 on the year. They will return to the court tomorrow for two more matches against PacWest opponents Holy Names and Academy of Art. Live video and stats of both matches can be found at HERE. 

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