The Sonoma State Women’s Volleyball Team on senior night came out determined facing Cal State San Bernardino at home on Saturday. In the spirit of senior teammates’ last home game, the Seawolves played with great pride and took down the 19th nationally ranked  Yotes with a score of 3-1. This was the team’s second victory over a ranked opponent over the past week. 

SSU won the first set 25-18, with a total of 18 kills and 2 blocks. The second set was taken by the opposing Yotes with a score of 25-20. The Seawolves dug deep to bounce back in the third set and win 25-16. The team continued their strong play to seal the deal and win the fourth set 25-16.

Paving the way for the Seawolves was outside hitter Kiana Richardson who led the team with 19 points and 15 kills. Jen Trephan continued her strong crusade against the Yotes, orchestrating strong passes and leading the team with a staggering 31 assists.

Trephan shared some thoughts with the STAR following the teams win this weekend, “Beating CSUSB and Pomona this weekend was a huge confidence booster for our whole team and it proved that we can deal with powerful teams.”

Trephan continued, “It was really nice winning, especially because it had a big impact on whether or not we were going to make it into the CCAA and NCAA tournament.” The senior setter leads the team this season with 469 assists and is second in points with 253.5.

Head Coach Bear Grassl also provided some insight following his team’s performance, “We have won ten out of 11 games, and the Pomona and San Bernardino matches were the toughest opponents that we have played. We have been excellent on both sides of the ball.”

Highlighting the night was the celebration of senior players Megan Trottier, Jessie Hobbs and Angel Gamboa. All three of the senior teammates have been part of the team since 2019 and have made an impact in the program over the course of their careers.

The win following last weekend leaves SSU with an overall record of 18-6 and ranked second in the CCAA standings. The Seawolves in their current position move forward poised for a postseason appearance next month in the CCAA tournament.

Coach Grassl explained his team’s goal and mindset heading into their last two games, “Our greatest goal is to maintain our composure under stress, we understand that our opponents will make good plays and we must absorb those, and respond with a clear head looking forward to our next opportunity.”

Grassl continued, “We have shown great strength in staying focused this season, at one point this year we were 8-5 and had lost four in a row, but we kept focusing on our next opportunity and our team responded with great results.” The Seawolves have displayed a great deal of tenacity and grit this season, placing themselves in a strong position.

The Seawolves hit the road this Thursday riding their four game winning streak for their second to last game against Cal State East Bay. The Seawolves will look to take revenge against the Pioneers, a team they lost to earlier this season 3-1. For more information on the team make sure to head over to https://sonomaseawolves.com/sports/womens-volleyball?path=wvball