TURLOCK, Calif.--- Fallon Freeman recorded a career-high 23 kills and hit .392 as Stan State outlasted Cal State East Bay in five sets, 27-25, 10-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-6, Saturday afternoon at the Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena. The Warriors hit .450 in the decisive fifth set, using a 10-1 run to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 13-5 advantage on their way to the victory. Stan State improved to 5-7 overall, while Cal State East Bay fell to 4-8.
Freeman committed just three attack errors on 51 attempts and added 15 digs and three block assists for her first double-double as a Warrior. Maggie Olson finished with 12 kills, while Emily Meyer and Lauren Hamilton each added nine. Hamilton hit .240 and finished with three block assists.
Reagan Wilkerson directed the offense with 43 assists while adding a match-high 21 digs for her sixth double-double of the season and eighth of her career. Rylee Szyszka had 17 digs and five assists, while Soraya Forbes contributed two kills, four digs, four block assists and a service ace. Lauren Gonzales had four of Stan State's six service aces.
Stan State finished with 58 kills and hit .205 for the match, while Cal State East Bay had 55 kills and hit .176. The Warriors held a 90-86 advantage in digs.
First Set
The opening set featured 13 ties and two lead changes. Neither team was able to create much separation until Stan State broke a 15-15 tie with three consecutive points. Back-to-back kills by Olson gave the Warriors an 18-15 advantage.
Cal State East Bay rallied to tie the set at 19-19 before Meyer put Stan State back in front with a kill. Szyszka followed with an ace, and another Meyer kill gave the Warriors a 23-20 advantage.
The Pioneers fought off three set points and tied the score at 24-24. Freeman answered with a kill for a 25-24 lead, but Cal State East Bay tied it once again. An attack error by the Pioneers gave Stan State another set point before Olson finished the 27-25 victory with a kill.
Freeman had six kills and hit .556 in the opening set, while Olson added four kills. Stan State finished with 17 kills and hit .235.
Second Set
Cal State East Bay responded quickly in the second set. The Pioneers scored the first nine points and never allowed Stan State to recover. Freeman accounted for four of the Warriors' five kills in the set, but Cal State East Bay hit .355 with 13 kills and just two attack errors. The Pioneers took the set 25-10 to even the match at one set apiece.
Third Set
Stan State bounced back in the third. After falling behind 3-0, the Warriors used a 7-1 run to take an 8-4 advantage. Freeman and Meyer each had kills during the run, while Forbes was involved in three blocks.
Cal State East Bay eventually tied the set at 9-9, but Stan State responded with three consecutive points. The Warriors later extended their advantage to 18-11 following a Meyer kill and a Cal State East Bay attack error. The Pioneers pulled within three at 19-16, but Stan State answered again. Freeman's kill made it 22-18, and Olson followed with kills for the Warriors' 23rd and 24th points. Stan State closed out the 25-20 victory to take a 2-1 match lead.
The Warriors held Cal State East Bay to eight kills and a .023 hitting percentage in the set.
Fourth Set
Cal State East Bay built an early 8-5 lead before Stan State answered with nine consecutive points. Freeman had three kills during the run, while Gonzales recorded three service aces as the Warriors turned the three-point deficit into a 14-8 advantage.
The Pioneers responded with their own run and eventually moved ahead 19-16. Stan State battled back behind kills from Olson, Meyer and Freeman to tie the set at 19-19.
The teams were tied again at 20 before Cal State East Bay scored four consecutive points to reach set point at 24-20. Stan State fought off three set points, with Freeman's kill pulling the Warriors within 24-23, but Cal State East Bay answered with a kill to take the set 25-23 and force a fifth.
Fifth Set
After Cal State East Bay took a 4-3 lead in the deciding set, Stan State took control.
Back-to-back kills by Hamilton gave the Warriors a 5-4 advantage. Hamilton and Freeman then combined for a block before Freeman's kill made it 7-4.
Forbes took over at the service line as the Warriors continued the run. She recorded an ace during the stretch, while Hamilton added two more kills as Stan State built a commanding 12-4 advantage.
After a Cal State East Bay point, Freeman recorded another kill before Hamilton's fourth kill of the set put Stan State at match point, 14-5. Olson finished the match with a kill for the 15-6 victory. Stan State was nearly flawless offensively in the fifth, recording 10 kills with just one error on 20 attempts for a .450 hitting percentage. Hamilton had four kills on five attempts and Freeman added three kills on five swings.
WARRIOR NOTABLES
- Freeman recorded a career-high 23 kills while hitting .392 and added 15 digs for her first double-double of the season and first as a Warrior.
- Wilkerson recorded 43 assists and a match-high 21 digs for her sixth double-double of the season and eighth of her career.
- Olson finished with 12 kills.
- Hamilton had nine kills, hit .240 and added three block assists.
- Gonzales recorded four service aces, including three during Stan State's 9-0 run in the fourth set.
- Stan State hit .450 with 10 kills and just one attack error in the fifth set.
- The Warriors used a 10-1 run to turn a 4-3 fifth-set deficit into a 13-5 advantage.
- Stan State finished with 90 digs, led by Wilkerson's 21, Szyszka's 17 and Freeman's 15.
- Head coach Lauren Flowers improved to 68-56 (.548) in her fifth season at Stan State. Flowers is third on the program's all-time victories list and is now two wins shy of reaching 70 for her career.
- Saturday's CCAA Pod Weekend match did not count toward the conference standings, leaving Stan State at 1-2 in CCAA play.
Up Next
Stan State returns to CCAA play next weekend with a pair of road matches in the Bay Area. The Warriors will face San Francisco State on Friday, Oct. 2, at 5 p.m. at SFFCU Gymnasium at Don Nasser Family Plaza in San Francisco before traveling to Cal State East Bay on Saturday, Oct. 3, for a 5 p.m. match at Pioneer Gymnasium in Hayward.
The Warriors return to the Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena the following weekend for two CCAA matches. Stan State will host No. 14 Cal Poly Pomona on Friday, Oct. 9, at 5 p.m. before facing Cal State Los Angeles on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 2 p.m. for Dig Pink.
