Sonoma State claims first state volleyball title

It wasn’t easy but in the end, Sonoma State’s volleyball team captured the inaugural CCAA state tournament Saturday night in La Jolla as the top-seeded Seawolves defeated Cal State San Bernardino in five sets.

The scores were 24-26, 25-23, 19-25, 25-18 and 15-10.

Caylie Seitz, voted the conference’s most valuable player during the regular season, added the tournament MVP award to her list of accomplishments.

Five of her 21 kills came in the fifth set. The Maria Carrillo grad put an end to the match with a blistering shot that didn’t come back.

Madelyn Densberger, Kelsey McIntire and Lexi Reddick also reached double-digits with kill shots.

SSU hadn’t dropped a set in several months until No. 2 San Bernardino took the first game.

“I felt like we were tentative and nervous early,” coach Bear Grassl said. “We were struggling with our composure.

“Then, when we had to play from behind, it helped us relax. We finished the match strong.

The Seawolves never trailed in the fifth set. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead on kill shots by Seitz and Rachel Andrews.

The lead was 12-9 when Emily Papale took her turn at serving. The Cardinal Newman alum then got the final three points.

SSU will take a 26-3 record into the NCAA Division 2 Tournament.