SAN MARCOS, CALIF. - On Thursday, November 10th, the Sonoma State volleyball team got their revenge and took down the 4th seed Pioneers of Cal State East Bay three sets to one in the quarterfinals of the CCAA Tournament. After losing 3-1 to Cal State East Bay exactly one week prior in the final week of the regular season, both teams would matchup once again in the quarterfinals tonight and the Seawolves would return the favor with an exciting four set victory to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2019.
SET 1 (25-17):
Things got off to a quick start for head coach
Bear Grassl and his group as they started the match off with an 8-2 run with kills from
Brooklyn Jackson and All-CCAA First Team recipient
Jen Trephan. The Pioneers wwould settle in though and claw their way back to just a two point deficit midway through the set. Once again though, another scoring run at a pivotal part of the set would give the Seawolves an 18-12 lead with the first set in their sights. Kills from Trephan and fellow all-conference first team recipient
Kiana Richardson would help setup the deciding point for SSU. After the serve, a combined block from
Jen Trephan and
Leilani Hallman on the Pioneers kill attempt would emphatically give Sonoma State the first set and the early momentum in the quarterfinals match. Trephan and Richardson combined for six kills in the opening set.
SET 2 (25-23):
The second set would be a much more back and forth affair but just as the Pioneers were pulling ahead, the Seawolves would overcome an 18-12 deficit and record 13 of the final 18 points to win a crucial second set and take a decisive 2-0 lead.
Jessie Hobbs, Kiana Rochardson and
Brooklyn Jackson all recorded kills in the initial 4-0 run. A kill from
Jaden Krist followed by a service ace from
Leilani Hallman would finally knot the set at 22 a piece. The Seawolves would take three of the next four points to win the set.
SET 4 (25-19):
The roles would flip in the third set as Cal State East Bay would find themselves down a point late in the set before going on a massive 7-1 run to take the third set. Still with the upper hand, Sonoma State would take care of business and after a 5-0 run to retake an 18-14 lead, they would never look back and finish things off with a great kill from three-time all-CCAA recipient
Kiana Richardson to send them to the semifinals! Richardson led all players with 13 kills while second year player
Brynna Slayton finished with a match high 22 assists. SSU was also fantastic at the net as they finished with a season high 16 blocks, 9 more on the night than Cal State East Bay.
The Seawolves improve to 20-7 overall on the season and record 20 wins in a season for the first time since 2017. An updated tournament bracket, game times, ticket links, and more can all be found at sonomaseawolves.com. Sonoma State will take on the top seed and nationally ranked Golden Eagles of Cal State LA tomorrow night at 5:30 PM in the conference semifinals. As always you can stream the game LIVE on the CCAA Network.
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