TURLOCK — It was a perfect Thursday for the Stanislaus State women's volleyball team as the Warriors went 2-0 during their home openers at the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase.
The Warriors won both matches in straight sets, over Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponents Western Oregon and Northwest Nazarene. Stanislaus State improved to 3-2 on the season after the day.
Against the WOU Wolves, the Warriors won 25-18, 25-12, 25-21. Then Stan State dominated the Nighthawks of NNU, 25-19, 25-10, 25-12.
TOP PERFORMANCES
•
Yisel Perez (Turlock/Pitman HS) was the leader in both matches, smashing 10 kills against WOU and 11 versus NNU in the nightcap. In all, she was a prolific 21-for-32 with two hitting errors for an amazing .594 attacking percentage.
• Libero
Krista Hernandez tallied 32 digs in the two matches as the leader on defense. She also had six services — four in the match against NNU.
•
Kiara Erving had her best match as a Warriors, so far, Thursday night. Against Northwest Nazarene, she was 10 of 13 with no errors (.769 hitting percentage). Erving also had eight total blocks on the day including two solos.
• Setters
Breanna Cannon and
Eyriana Eatmon split time and both ran the offense effectively. Cannon had 16 and 17 assists while Eatmon, a redshirt freshman, made her Warrior debut with 18 assists in each match.
KEY MOMENTS AGAINST WESTERN OREGON
• Stan State hit .625 as a team in the second set without a hitting error. The Warriors scored 9 of the final 11 points to put the second set away in the 25-12 blow-out win.
• With WOU leading 14-13 in the third set, back-to-back kills by
Rachel Klopfer and Perez turned the tide in favorite of the Warriors. Perez's kills gave Stan State the lead the team never relinquish.
KEY MOMENTS AGAINST NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• The Warriors hit .356 for the match against NNU including a strong .412 to close out the night.
• The Nighthawks seem to have its energy completely sucked out of them when a teammate was injured. Already up 19-7, the Warriors rolled off seven of the final nine points to win the set after that incident.
• Stan State scored eight straight points — seven with Hernandez serving — during a run in the third that turned a 14-10 match into a 22-10 lead. Hernandez had two aces during that spurt.
WHAT COACH MALLORI GIBSON-ROSSI HAD TO SAY:
"This week at practice we worked a lot on our side out percentage. Our passing and our first ball kills definitely improved today which was a result of showcasing the athleticism of our attackers.
"We are also showing a lot of urgency and relentlessness on defense which has sparked our level of play."
NOTEWORTHY
• On defense, the Warriors out-dug and out-blocked their opponents. Stan had 44 digs and 8 total blocks against WOU (38 and 5) and 48 digs with 11 total blocks against NNU (37 and 6).
• Versus Northwest Nazarene, Stan State posted sideout percentages of 69 or better in each set.
UP NEXT
The Warriors play just once on Friday during the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase as they will take on Notre Dame de Namur at 7:30 p.m.
