TURLOCK – Warriors Volleyball took their sandals and their work boots up to Honolulu, Hawaii for this weekend's Magic Island Hawaii Classic. The team had a four-game slate ahead of them with double-headers on Friday and Saturday, flying back to the 209 with a 3-1 record. 
 
Hawaii Hilo was the first team on the menu for the Warriors, that was carried by efficient attacking by Senior Macky Morris with eight kills (.800). Senior Penelope Zepeda led the team with nine kills while Junior Eyriana Eatmon put down 3 aces in her first match back in Warrior Red. On the defensive side of the net, Junior Gabby Rawson had a busy day on the court holding the squad down with 20 digs. The team lived up to the hype in their season opener with a 3-0 sweep over the Vulcans. The group looked to ride that momentum into their second match of the day against nationally ranked Chaminade University. 
 
The underdog Warriors held their own against the #25 Silverswords of Chaminade University, taking them to four sets in a 1-3 match. Stanislaus State didn't back down from the challenge however, taking the second set victory 25-20. From then on, the group did not let any sets go over a three-point margin. Morris led the charge with 14 kills, followed closely by Weaver with 11 kills, and 10 kills from Louisiana Tech transfer Faith Menary to keep the Warriors within striking distance throughout the match. Sophomore Alex Byrd denied her competition with nine blocks, placing her fourth on the Stanislaus State all-time blocks per match record books. Byrd and Morris were also responsible for 16 of the team's 23 blocks in the contest. Sophomore assist leader Haley Burdo had her fingerprints on 24 assists, making up more than half of the team's total. Eatmon followed up with 12 assists and Rawson with 10 assists. The team wasn't able to take the Silverswords to a fifth set, finishing the fourth set with a close 24-26 final score. Stanislaus didn't look back following Friday night's contest, as they steamrolled through the rest of their competition with ease.
 
Saturday's slate kicked off with a 3-0 afternoon victory over Western Oregon University. The Warriors saw seven different players serve aces in this contest as Eatmon, Menary, Burdo, Ellison, Rawson, Zepeda, and Sophomore Autumn Kirby all caught fire from the service line. Rawson once again led the Warriors with 17 digs, and setters Burdo and Eatmon put up double-doubles with 10 digs and 12 assists in the match. 
 
The team ended the trip with their third sweep of the tournament against Hawaii Pacific University. While they didn't put up their usual high-volume kills total, they made up for it with 34 digs, 20 assists, and 14 service aces. Ellison Weaver showed up big, serving seven aces, and Haley Burdo made her usual impact assisting on 14 Warrior points and corralling nine digs. Libero Gabby Rawson also managed to come away with nine digs and more importantly received Magic Island Hawaii Classic All-Tournament team honors. She finished the tournament with 65 total digs and 23 assists in four matches, helping lead her team to a convincing 3-1 record to spark the season.
 
The Warriors will head to Carson for more tournament action as they take on a three-game weekend Sept 2^nd and 3^rd at the Toro Classic hosted by Cal State Dominguez Hills. The first game of their trip begins this Friday at 12:30pm against Winona State.