On The Record With Megan Wong, Part III

We fly high no lie you know this, ballin!!! Our team is still going strong, beating every team that comes our way. We had an amazing week, first beating Notre Dame de Namur early in the week on Tuesday then beating the #15 ranked team, Cal State LA, and Saturday beating Cal State Dominguez Hills. This is the best start for the women’s volleyball team here at Sonoma State University in school history.

Our team is unbeatable right now. With setter junior Lindsay Brown out for Tuesday's game and knowing that the big match against the Golden Eagles was going to be a tough fight, she did all she could do to get her ankle healed for Thursday night's game. By Wednesday night at practice she looked as good as new and was ready to take on CSULA and so were the rest of us. That night our team walked into the gym ready to dominate. We are the underdogs!!! We surprisingly took LA in 3 straight games. It was a rather slow and dull game, but we came out on top.

Despite the fact that Coach Bear used 9 out of the 18 girls on the team during Thursday night’s game, all of us were happy with the win. All sports have to deal with politics and coaches favorites. It’s just the way the sports life is as an athlete. There are the starters and the bench warmers or also known as the 1st string and 2nd string players, but the ones who don’t play much complain about playing time and I figure, if a team is doing well with the people on the court or field, why ruin the flow of everything. Volleyball, along with all other sports, is a team sport and we need to do what is best for the team, keep the chemistry going.

Saturday was a different story. We were ready for a quick 3 games so we could send the Toros home early back to the LA County. We weren't joking either because we took care of business and got the job done. Coach Bear, shockingly, played every single one of us eligible players Saturday night against CSULA. It was a fun and exciting night for all of us. Not only did we all get playing time, but we all did well and worked as a team to make our record to 11-1!!!!

Our upcoming games will all be held at our home gym starting at 7pm on Wednesday vs. Academy of Art, Friday vs. SF State and Saturday vs. Monterey Bay. We are not planning on stopping our winning streak just yet!!!

How About Those Seawolf Netters?

The volleyball team is now floating in unchartered waters at 10-1, the best start in school history. After last night's dominating performance against No. 15 Cal State L.A., the Seawolves are a win on Saturday away from possibly being ranked for the first time since 1993. While that might be a nice little notch on the belt, the real prize would be a trip to the NCAA Pacific Regional Tournament for the first time since '93.

Santa Rosa Press Democrat writer Eric Branch has a great recap of last night's match in today's paper. By the way, the PD has been doing a great job covering the Seawolves over the last few months...probably the most coverage we've had in my seven years at SSU. Be sure to let them know that you appreciate the coverage they give SSU athletics.

It's been a one heck of a fall for the Seawolves so far. All the teams can definitely use your support to keep it going.

On The Record With Megan Wong, Part II

What can I say??? We walked into Notre Dame de Namur’s gym thinking we had it easy last night, but we thought wrong. They were ready for a dog fight and they weren't giving up. It had been almost 3 weeks since we’d last played them and they’ve been to 3 good tournaments: ours, the UCSD tournament, and the Billings, Montana tournament where they played teams such as Chico, UCSD, CSUSB, and Montana State Billings. They had improved since we last saw them at our tournament wheree defeated them easily in 3 games. It was a different story last night.

First off, we didn’t have our starting setter, junior Lindsay Brown, due to a sprained ankle from Saturday night's game at Chico, but sophomore Devin Scully, put out tons of effort on the court to make up for the absence of Brown. Scully did her best to get the job done as our setter last night and it wasn’t too bad. Knowing that Devin hasn’t set since her senior year in high school, we knew that everyone was going to have to help her out. As a team, we came out nervous, slow, and shocked. Coach Bear wasn’t kidding when he said, “They’re gunning for us.” We weren’t expecting balls to be slammed or tough floater serves, but we finally turned on our engine and started to burn some rubber and soon it was a race to the finish line. Despite the fact that we lost the first game 28-26, we came back strong and won games 2 and 3. We then lost game 4 with our errors, but in the end we defeated the Argonauts for the 2nd time this year, taking game 5 with a strong finish (15-7) , and driving home with a 9-1 record!!!

We play Cal State LA Thursday night at 7pm and they are also 2-0 in conference. We’ll see what happens with Lindsay Brown still injured, but hopefully we, as a team, will have faith, determination, and commitment to believe that no matter who is on the court we will find the power to win!!!

Sablle's Cross Country Report, Part II

Hey it’s Sablle here...

Well since I last wrote my blog we had two other races. Our first race went well but it was on the most non cross-country course of my life. The course was a really long dirt loop that we did three time to make a 6k. The race was in Davis, and it was really hot as well and in a real landfill. One of our good runners Kiyara actually sprained her ankle in the second loop but sucked it up and ran the entire rest of the race, which really takes some hard work considering she went on crutches. The good news though, she is now walking again and doing aqua jogging! In the race our team was in a really large pack, which is a good thing for our bigger races. We get all of those spots so our score goes up. Our training last week was probably the hardest week of my life. On Monday the team ran 8 miles. Tuesday, we did a ton of hills. Wednesday, we took it easy and on Thursday we did this really intense track workout. Friday, we did pick-ups on the Copeland Creek trail along with aqua jogging in the athletic pool. That whirlpool in the training office is really coming in handy these days with our team!

This past Saturday we competed in the Mills Invitational in Oakland. This race was a pretty cool course with a little of everything (hills, grass, concrete, trail) with some good weather as well. We showed up in our new workout suits which made us look really smooth not the mention the sweet buns we run in and I know everybody on the team would have vouched for me that they are so attractive. Katie Bolce, who is an amazingly dedicated runner on our team, came in 1st and received a medal. Sonoma State as a whole came in 1st as well in the team scorings and received a 1st place trophy. The team is proud of the trophy and is happy with the performance. Our score was 30 and the closest team to us, Pacific, scored 60.

Also, this Saturday at 9:00 am we are having our first alumni two-mile fun run. The cost to participate is ten dollars and all the proceeds benefit the Sonoma State cross-country team. If you would like to participate in the event contact head coach Mark James.

Young Sablle

On The Record With Megan Wong

This year has been a major turn around from the previous years for our team. We have 7 incoming freshman, 5 sophomores, 4 juniors, 1 grad student and 1 transfer student who is also a junior. We had a strong showing at the Annual Seawolf Spike (4-0) and the Central Washington Tournament (2-1).

This past weekend, we played against Cal State Stanislaus and won easily, beating them in 3 games. The following night, Saturday, September 13, we put up a fight against our big time RIVALS.... CHICO!!! The team made a statement on Saturday night with a 3-2 win on the road against No. 25 Chico State. It was the fourth straight win for us, which makes our record 8-1 overall, 2-0 CCAA and tied for 1st in conference. We are off to our best start since 2001, when we also started 8-1. We are also enjoying our first 2-0 start to the conference schedule since 2002.

This coming week we play at Notre Dame de Namur Tuesday night and Cal State LA Thursday night at home and Cal State Dominguez Hills Saturday night at home. We can't wait to show them what we've got because we are going to give them a run for their money.

Bailey Blog: So Far, So Good

This past weekend was a successful one. It is a strange feeling to start the season this well, and not because I didn’t think that we could, but because I have not seen us start this well since I have been here.

Seattle Pacific is one team that I have never beaten, and one opponent that our school has only beaten once. Now obviously with their legendary coach gone this season we knew that things were going to be different. However the bitter taste of last year's overtime loss to these guys was something that we desperately wanted to wash out of our mouths. The game was weird for the first half. We managed to score first and I think we could all smell blood in the water, but after giving away a goal there was a brief sense of "here we go again". After they pretty much gave us a goal back before half time and we went into the break ahead and we knew there was no looking back. We easily could have piled on more goals, but four to one is not a bad way to win.

Western was a different beast all together. We knew that this was really our first test of the season, and just like we had bad history with Seattle Pacific, these guys have bad history with us. They hit the post pretty early on and battled with us for the whole first half, but the heat must have gotten to them. They weren’t as sharp in the second half and we pushed them around to the point that they got into Jack really dirty and found themselves left wanting and having to play with only ten men the rest of the afternoon. It was pretty much academic from that point on, but it didn’t come easy. Our offense looked a little stagnant for the first time all season, but our defense played very well and picked us up.

Our team goal this week was to keep working hard, as we really have not done anything yet, and to focus on the defensive aspect of our game. The team is in a really good place right now; we are working hard and having fun while we do it. This weekend will be another test for us, Notre Dame and Stanislaus will be ready to protect their homes, but we just have to keep taking it one game at a time. Till next time this is Bailey saying good by and I love you Mom.

Andrew Bailey is a two-time All-American and the all-time leading goal scorer in Sonoma State history. He is a senior majoring in Communications.

Fun With Rankings

The Sonoma State men's soccer team awoke this morning to find that the powers-that-be have declared them the No. 2 team in the nation. Head coach Marcus Ziemer downplayed the accomplishment, stating that the only ranking that matters is the one at the end of the year. Very true.

The ranking got me thinking. Do you realize that in the past five months, three different Sonoma State teams have been ranked in the top two in the nation? Men's Golf was No. 2 heading into the national championship tournament (they were No. 1 for much of the season before that) and baseball was No. 2 going into the World Series.

Not many schools can claim something like this.

Sablle's Cross Country Report

Hey guys, My name is Sablle Scheppmann and this will be my first blog of the season. Cross Country has been going really well so far, if I do say so myself. We kicked off the season by going to Bodega Bay for our running camp. We ate at some really nice places because my coach Mark James is a HUGE LOCAL!!!

Anyways, we ran in the early morning hours and once at night. The weather was a bit muggy a couple days, but otherwise it was beautiful. This one run we did at the Bodega Head was amazing. We saw deer, and the AMAZING sunset!!! Before we left camp as, we got in a quick yoga session which was really hard because we were so sore from running. However, it was also very relaxing.

So far this season has been quite the ride. Waking up everyday and running at 7:00 am every morning is not an easy task...that is for sure!! But it keeps me and the other girls on track. By on track, I mean not becoming the typical "college kid" who wakes up at 10:00 every morning and goes to bed at 2:00. I feel like Mark and our assistant coach Chandra are really turning us into runners, whether with our hardcore nutritionist Marina or just giving us simple
things to do to improve.

Now I’ll let you in on how our first race went. Everyone was pretty happy with their first performance whether in the 20's or the 22's it did not matter. Everyone was proud to be a collegiate athlete and running for Sonoma State. Our course was pretty fast as well,
with little to no hills on it and a nice view of beautiful Golden Gate Park. Cannot wait for the next race, there should be some tough competition there just like there was at Golden Gate Park. We know the teams we want to beat this season and hopefully we will do so!

-Sablle

Bailey Blog: Mission Accomplished!

Mission accomplished! We have just landed and are back in Rohnert Park safe and sound. The final days of our trip were amazing and proved to be both a test of character and will.

The Chaminade game was a very interesting game to say the least. We dominated much of the play, but didn’t seem to be able to find the back of the net. The culmination of a solid defense effort on their part, slippery field conditions and a slight lack of sharpness found us down one goal midway through the first half. Scott was the first to find the back of the net for us, banging home a header off a corner. The game was a little chippy for the rest of the day, but we stayed sharp for the rest of the half and scored two more to give us a comfortable lead going into half. The second goal came from me, a shot from about the top of the penalty box that found its way past the goalie, and the third came from Nathan, a nice finish after a great cross from the left.

A comfortable lead going into the second half, and a tired opponent would see us not only sit on the lead but continue the fireworks. Not long into the second half Stu would step us and bend a shot around the wall on a free kick, pretty much crushing any idea that there would be a comeback. Ross would add two more on the day, one by penalty kick, and the other coming right off of their kick off. Ross would steal the ball from the defender near the corner of the penalty box on the left, take a touch inside and hit a wonderfully bended ball to the back post. An interesting game, which felt easy, but saw us have to fight for the first thirty minutes and lose Brook for the day because he was hit in the mouth, requiring stitches.

The final game of the trip was one we almost gave away. HPU were very determined to play the role of David to our Goliath, as they packed it in and brought their hard hats and lunch buckets. The field was pretty miserable, as was the wind and the fact that there were only two refs for most of the game. Despite all that we dominated the first half but could not find the back of the net. The second half saw our inspired reserves come in and give us a boost that we had been missing in the first half.

With the wind directly in our face Alan Grady would be the first to find the net on this day. A shot from Ross was saved by the keeper back out to Mark on the left side, who would bring the ball back in and lay it off for Grady to hammer home.

Lafon would join in on the scoring party that was our Hawaii trip blasting home a penalty kick after their goalie had fouled Cam.

There was about twenty minutes left at this point and we could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Yet the story of the day was less how well we played, but the fact that we almost gave the game away. A rare mistake in the back saw HPU find its first goal less than ten minutes later which lit a fire under them. Coupled with their determination, and our lack of will to put this game away, we would watch as they would find the equalizer with little time to spare as they flicked the ball on from a goal kick and hit a volley past Brook. We were unable to end it in regulation, but I was sure that our team would find the winner in overtime.

Both teams fought hard in overtime, and we continued to dominate the run of play and buckled up for a bumpy ride. In the waning moments of the game we pushed forward for one last effort. Passing the ball around beautifully, Nate found himself in front of the goal only to be denied by their goalie. The ball was saved wide as Cam tracked it down and whipped it back post were I was waiting. Seeing a golden opportunity I leaped up and slotted the ball home with my head and pandemonium ensued. The winner was with only twenty five seconds left, and on this day we showed that we have the will to win close games, but we are not invincible.

Exasperated from the trip, with three wins tucked under our belts, we packed up and headed for home, but not after hitting the beach one more time. The flight home was a treat as well as Scott’s mom was our flight attendant and treated us to a wonderful time. She served us hot dogs and chips and helped bring a wonderful end to a wonderful trip. After getting in late we headed back to rest up and prepare for SPU and Western this weekend. Once again this is Andrew Bailey signing out.

Sweet 16

16-0. That's the Seawolves' cumulative fall record so far. When counting exhibition and regular season games for the three team sports (m/w soccer, volleyball), the Seawolves haven't lost in 16 contests.

Volleyball is 4-0 after sweeping the Seawolf Spike.
Men's Soccer is 3-0 in the regular season after a 3-0 pre-season.
Women's Soccer is also 3-0 in the regular season after a 3-0 pre-season.

Cross Country ran well at the USF Invitational, but we're not counting them in this report since it is not a 'team sport'. Yes, I know there is a cross country 'team' and 'team' scoring, but we don't compete head-to-head with other institutions and we don't record a win-loss record.

Yes, it's early, but this could be shaping up to be quite the season. How long can the department go without a loss? The soccer teams have some difficult games this weekend and the volleyball squad heads up to Washington for a few toughies as well.