At match point, Gators sophomore outside hitter Alana Larson was set to serve for the San Francisco State University women’s volleyball team. Her team is one point away from clinching the match against the No. 2 ranked California State University, Los Angeles Golden Eagles. The last time the two met, the Golden Eagles defended their home court with a sweep, and the Gators looked to do the same. 

After Larson’s serve and an exchange of kill attempts by both teams, the game-winning play came through. Larson made a dig for the ball, and freshman setter Melanie Hewlett set it up for junior outside hitter Grace Witcher. Witcher struck it in the direction of Golden Eagles’ outside hitter Zuhal Cetin. The ball was knocked out of play by Cetin, and the closing kill was credited to Witcher. 

Hewlett saw the win as a huge turnaround for the team, and a necessary response after the Gators’ loss in Los Angeles two weeks prior.

“Most of my emotion was just excitement and ready to go,” Hewlett said. “I’m just super proud of everyone. We all showed out and really played with confidence.”

Larson stepped away from her position as libero to be a right side hitter for the Gators, a position she’s played before in her career. 

“I was like ‘trust your training.’ [It] worked out in my favor,” Larson said. “We really just clicked and came together tonight, especially for this big matchup like this.” 

The Gators swept the Golden Eagles in their second-to-last home match of the 2025 regular season. The visitors walked into the Swamp 11-2 and second in the conference, while the Gators were 6-7 and sixth in the standings. 

Coming into Saturday’s match, the Gators were swept by the California State University, San Bernardino Coyotes on Friday, a tough loss the home squad wanted to move on from. 

“We had a rough match the night before, so we kind of reset a little bit,” Head Coach Matt Hoffman said. “I know we have it in us. I know we can do it, and they definitely showed that tonight, so I’m proud of them for that.” 

Gators outside hitter Aidan Goodrich said the team’s mentality and their response to high-pressure situations were crucial coming into Saturday’s game. 

“We tried super hard tonight and we did a great job at it,” Goodrich said. “Just staying focused at being confident, relaxed, connected and not letting any fear creep into us; that was definitely a big side of things today.”

The Gators executed a strong start and took the first set 26-24 over the Golden Eagles. Goodrich led the team  with five kills and Hewlett led in assists with eight. Senior outside hitter Tamiya Wilson scored a service ace as the ball rolled over the net and fell in front of the Golden Eagles’ front line. 

The competitive exchange in the first set between the two teams was a glimpse of the match ahead on Saturday afternoon.

The Gators and the Golden Eagles were tight early in the crucial second set until the hosts found their rhythm and collected a 6-0 hot streak. The sixth point of the Gators’ run, which lifted them up 16-12, wasn’t without a game-defining moment. 

At that point, the Gators and the Golden Eagles had the longest rally of the match. The ball was on either team’s side multiple times and drew breath from spectators in the gymnasium, who waited for the ball to finally drop. Goodrich would deliver the reliever, with a strike past the Golden Eagles to  earn the Gators’ a sixth consecutive point. 

The Gators walked off the second set 25-22 and one set win away from defending home court. Larson collected three kills to be the second-leading scorer with five total, behind Goodrich’s count of 12 kills throughout two sets. 

“It’s super helpful when we have a great setter, and also Grace and Alana were passing the ball really well tonight, too, so it made it easy for me,” Goodrich said. “I worked with my coach before the game on fixing my approach and fixing my swing just a little bit, because I did have a rougher night last night.It’s really nice when I can understand what I’m doing wrong, and I think I carried that over in today’s game and applied that and it worked.”

Something Hoffman emphasized to his team in the second set was pressure, which the Gators delivered on to come out victorious. 

“We couldn’t just be safe and let them come at us,” Hoffman said. “We really made sure to continue to apply pressure on them to make them a little uncomfortable, so that we could be in a better situation. 

Despite the visitors’ early 6-3 start to the third set, the Gators regrouped and persistently applied pressure down the stretch. The home squad kept their distance from the Golden Eagles and sealed the set and the sweep. Victorious cheers were heard throughout the main gymnasium. 

Goodrich led the Gators with 17 kills while Larson contributed the second-most with nine. Hewlett collected a total of 30 assists on Saturday. 

The Gators kept their sixth spot in the conference with a 7-7 record while the 11-3 Golden Eagles dropped to third. 

Larson and Goodrich were among the returning Gators who stepped up to lead the new faces in their match against the Golden Eagles. Everyone fought with an applaudable effort that Goodrich credited them for. 

“It means a lot. After the loss against San Bernardino, it could have gone either way,” Goodrich said. “I’m really proud of how we fought, and I could just feel it on the court [that] everyone wanted it so badly.”

To Goodrich, the victory will carry throughout the rest of the season and into the conference tournament if the Gators remain in the top six. 

“Going into the conference tournament, it’s going to provide a lot of energy,” Goodrich said. “To know that we can beat a team that’s number two in the conference, it’s going to give us a lot of leeway and I think it’s going to carry us forward for sure.”

The Gators’ next match will be on Friday for Senior Day versus the California State University, Monterey Bay Sea Otters in the Swamp. 

“We have two more weeks,” Hoffman said. “Having this kind of win [can] hopefully catapult us into playing some more strong volleyball [and] close out the season.”