Coming off the momentum from a Halloween victory, the SF State women’s volleyball team stayed hot, sweeping Cal State Dominguez Hills Friday night.
The Gators extended their winning streak to four, improving to a 13-4 record in the final homestand of the season.
On Wednesday night, the Gators beat Sonoma State at Rohnert Park to take sole possession of third place in conference.
Sophomore middle hitter Jazmine Williams recorded eight kills of her own and expressed enthusiasm about the team’s victory.
“Our blocking game was incredible across the board,” Williams said. “We just never gave up. Even in the second game when it was close, we just fought for every point!”
Taking the first set 23-17, the Gators kicked off the night with a lot of energy. The Toros seemed to quiet down until rallying back in the second, tying the game nine times. The game went back and forth for a couple of rallies until the Gators capitalized on some errors and came out on top.
Feeding off the energy of the second set, the Gators completed the sweep, shutting down the Toros’ offense to only seven kills in the third with a .037 attack percentage.
Defense played an important part as the Gators posted 10 team blocks with multiple players contributing 16 blocking assists.
The Gators posted a .310 attack percentage with 43 kills and seven aces to finish the night.
Freshman Meagan Wright led the team with 11 kills and six blocking assists while senior Megan Johnson recorded seven kills of her own. Senior Iris Tolenada racked up another double double with 30 assists and 16 digs.
Wright hopes the team will keep hitting their standards as they take on each team one game at a time.
“Volleyball is a game of momentum,” Wright said.” Whoever has the momentum is just going to come out on top. Thankfully and skillfully we have it, and we just hope to continue it.”
Dominguez Hills finished with a .170 attack percentage, 36 kills and four team blocks.
Junior middle blocker Whitney Lee led the Toros with 11 kills and three blocking assists with senior Delea Pursel contributing seven kills of her own.
The Toros will fall to 7-9 in conference standings with their next matchup against Sonoma State on Saturday night.
Earlier in the week, the Gators received a No.6 ranking in the NCAA Division II West Regional poll.
With sights focused on the final games of the season head coach Michelle Patton is looking forward to finishing strong.
“We have a lot to work on,” Patton said. “We talk about going in and playing well enough to take care of a team in three but we also have to prepare to go long because there are good teams in our conference. It’s always about what we’re doing on our side of the court.”
The Gators will wrap up their final home game against visiting Cal State Los Angeles on Saturday night at 7 p.m. There will be a special ceremony prior to the game for Senior Night. Seniors Iris Tolenada, Megan Johnson, Sammie Battles and Kelsie Brennan will be honored.
