The crowd is raging and everyone is standing. With the score now 29-28 in the fourth set, it's the Gators' serve. The whistle blows and the ball flies into action, but after a single successful attack, the game is suddenly over -- Gators win.

In a full-house match Friday Nov. 6 between the nation's second-ranked UC San Diego Tritons, the SF State Gators were pumped and adrenaline-ready to compete. The Gators proudly snatched UC San Diego's 16-match winning streak after an intense four sets (25-19, 16-25, 25-15, 30-28).

"I've known from the beginning what my girls are capable of achieving and tonight their game gave me the chills," Head Coach Michelle Patton said. "They were playing naturally and as a team, they played their all-time best."

But after such a resounding victory Friday night, the Gator celebration didn't last long.
SF State fell short in a fifth-set loss against Cal State East Bay (25-20, 17-25, 23-25, 25-23, 16-14) Saturday evening Nov. 7 where they hosted their last home game of the season.

Despite the immediate loss, the Gators still impressed with their big win the night before.

"Especially with a tough crowd like this one, it makes it harder for us to play," Patton said after the UCSD win.

"We had it set in our minds to play focused and compete well," Mackenzie Pike, junior, said. "We were determined to get it from the beginning, and we did."

Leading 17-8 and finishing with 25-19 in the first set, the Gators played with no shame. But after an error-filled second set, the Gators suffered an embarrassing 16-25 loss.

"It was all of our mistakes that brought us down," Jackie Domescus, junior, said. "After that set, we knew exactly what went wrong and corrected our mistakes to win the third set."

Freshman Lauren Walsh recorded a season high after smashing an outstanding 20 kills, while veteran Beth Perkins finished with 21. Picking up her 19th double-double for the year was freshman Iris Tolenada, who notched a stunning 46 assists and 12 digs. And if that isn't enough, the Gators outdid the Tritons 11 to three in team blocks.

Communication determined the outcome of the third set for the purple and gold as they capped a 25-15 win. But no one expected what was about to happen in the fourth set.
With 18 tied scores and 11 lead changes, it was a brawl between the two teams. After an epic back-to-back block to tie the score 12-12, the Gators were back in the game.

"I was shaking," Pike said. "I was telling myself to relax, just stay focused."

The score remained neck-and-neck the remainder of the fourth set. But after a Tolenada's assist to Perkins, it was time for the Tritons to head home.

"This was a validation win for us. It means to come in, put in work and stick with the right mentality," Patton said. "This has been their best game so far."

Though SF State underperformed against CSUEB, a 9-20 team whom the Gators mopped last month 3-2, they will be given a final shot at improving their overall 19-9 season record when they finish off their season down south against Cal State San Bernardino on Nov. 13 and Cal Poly Pomona on Nov. 14.