The San Francisco State University women’s volleyball team completed a back-to-back two-game weekend homestand on Sunday in front of a raucous home student section. They went a perfect 2-0 on the weekend, including knocking off the Chaminade University of Honolulu Silverswords, the sixth-ranked team in NCAA Division II.
“I think we’re playing really well,” said Matt Hoffman, head coach. “I think we’re continuing to get better each weekend and so as long as we keep doing that, I’ll be pretty excited about it.”
The Gators hosted two games this weekend at the Main Gym, Sept. 28 versus California State University, East Bay but the matchup on Sept. 29 with the sixth-ranked Chaminade Silverswords was one the team was looking forward to.
“We were excited for this game. Getting a highly ranked team to come to your gym is exciting,” Hoffman said. “We played two conference games, so we kind of knew that was under our belt. Now we were kind of just going to give it all we got.”
The Gators came out of the gates hot versus Chaminade, winning the first set by a score of 25-20, and giving themselves an early 1-0 set lead over the Silverswords. Sophomore outside hitter Aidan Goodrich and redshirt senior outside hitter Izzy Issak, were both crucial in helping win the set for the Gators, combining for 10 kills.
The Silverswords fought back in the second set, winning 25-18, taking some of the momentum away from SFSU and tying the match one game apiece.
After a five-minute intermission between the second and third set, with more students continuing to file into the gym, the momentum was back on the Gators side.
“The crowd was great and there were some rallies in there that were really exciting. They were getting excited about it and it was getting loud in here,” Hoffman said. “We’re super thankful for all the students that came out and supported us. It was fun.”
The Gators dominated the third set, winning 25-16, and the rowdy crowd continued to make the difference.
“We love playing in the Swamp,” Issak said. “We have great fans, and it’s a really, really tough gym to play in. We play in it every day and I think opponents never look forward to coming here and playing against us.”
The momentum and energy from the crowd continued onto the floor in the fourth set where once again the Gators were dominant, winning the set 25-16, and winning the match 3-1. They snapped a five-match losing streak to Chaminade, including last season’s NCAA West Region first-round matchup between the two schools.
“We’ve played them the last two years so we know it’s always going to be a really good game when we play them,” Hoffman said. “I think we just stuck to what we were trusting and what we were doing and what we practiced. One of the biggest things is we really served tough throughout that match, and that really kind of got to them, and really kind of made it a little bit easier on our defense.”
The trio of Goodrich, Issak, and junior right-side hitter Tamiya Wilson combined for 39 kills, while senior setter Kimberly DeBoer notched a team-high 37 assists.
“I think in the beginning we were kind of rocky but I think now we’re finally connecting on things that we need to do to beat any team,” Wilson said.
Wilson, who registered an impressive total of 29 kills between the two games over the weekend, moved into the top ten in kills all-time at San Francisco State with 928.
One of Wilson’s biggest goals and motivations is to reach 1000 kills in her career, a goal she says she thinks about all the time.
With three home wins this week, the Gators have moved to 9-3 overall on the season, 3-1 in Conference play, and a perfect 7-0 at home this season.
“I think being at home helps a lot,” Hoffman said. “I think being at home, they’re comfortable, they’re in their own beds and it’s a familiar routine that we’re always on and then obviously friends and family and student support is so big.”
The Gators’ next four matchups will all be on the road where they’ll play California State University, Stanislaus on Oct. 4, California State University, Chico on Oct. 5, Sonoma State University on Oct. 10, and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt on Oct. 12, before returning to the Swamp Oct. 17 to take on California State University, San Bernardino.
Despite having a record of 2-3 away from home this season, Issak is confident the team is headed in the right direction and that the team has made great strides from game one.
“We’ve definitely gotten more comfortable with who’s on the court, and we’re trusting each other a lot more,” Isaak said. “We’re really getting after it from the service line. Our offense is really clicking. It’s been flowing a lot better since the beginning of the season, just those little things that come with time and practice and gameplay, like trust and execution, that’s all getting better.”
