ARCATA – Turning around what started as a dismal weekend, the Stanislaus State volleyball team is heading back to Turlock in celebration after earning their second victory of the season in four sets against Humboldt State at the Lumberjack Arena on Friday night.
The Warriors brought a strong presence into the gym, stealing the first two sets 25-17 and 25-20. The Jacks fought back taking set three 15-25 but Stan State finished the job winning the decisive set 25-15. The Warriors are now 2-18 overall and 2-10 in the CCAA while Humboldt State falls to 3-14 and 2-9.
After an injury to the Warriors'
Breanna Cannon took her out of play on Thursday, the Warriors were left to force major adjustments to their offense. Outside hitters
Sara Schell and
Ramey Gardner took over the facilitating roles, acting as Stan State's setters for the night. Schell led with 23 assists and Gardner tallied 16 assists.
Rachel Klopfer led the Warriors' offense with 17 kills.
Morgan Miller had a strong night at the service line with three aces and
Kaitlyn Iwamoto served two aces.
The Stan State defense was dominant against the Lumberjacks with outside hitter
Yisel Perez leading with 27 digs. Schell tallied 15 digs and Klopfer and Gardner totaled 12 digs each. The Warriors net-side defense was too strong for Humboldt State to avoid, with a total of 24 Warrior blocks.
Alana Wilson-Reid put down nine blocks in the front row and
Sierra Adams had eight blocks.
Stan State dominated the Jacks statistically leading in three different categories. The Warriors out-hit Humboldt State 47 kills to 42 kills, they out-blocked the Jacks 24 to 13, and out-aced Humboldt 6 to 2. The teams held even with 78 digs apiece.
Working with an unusual lineup, the Warriors dove into tonight's match head first taking a 4-1 lead to start it off. Stan State held the lead for the entirety of the set, going on a five-point run to put the lumberjacks in a seven point deficit near the end (21-14).
Set two began differently with three Warrior attacking errors giving the Jacks a 4-0 lead. Fighting their way to the tie at 10-10, the teams battled it out, tying the score five times before Stan State sped ahead.
The tide flipped in set three when the Warriors struggled to take the advantage. Stan State fell behind mid-set and failed to push their way back into the lead, giving the Lumberjacks another chance to fight. Humboldt's hope didn't last long as Stan State took set four with a 10-point lead and left with their second win of the season.
Alex Lolland led Humboldt State with 12 kills on offense, and Jessica Lammers ran the Lumberjacks offense with 21 assists. Sarah Shively led with 28 digs for the Jacks.
Stan State will be on the road next weekend, traveling to the CCAA South to challenge Cal poly Pomona on Friday and Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday.
