CHICO, Calif. – The Chico State volleyball team Friday avenged last month’s loss to Cal State East Bay, and in the process moved into sole possession of fourth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The Pioneers made the Wildcats work, but Chico State prevailed in three sets at Acker Gym by scores of 25-21, 25-20 and 28-26, giving the ’Cats their second straight victory and ninth in the last 11 matches.
The win improved Chico State’s season record to 21-6 and 12-5 in the CCAA, and combined with Sonoma State’s loss Friday to Cal State San Bernardino, left the ’Cats all alone in fourth place in the conference standings. It also marked the second straight year (and the third time in Cody Hein’s Wildcat head coaching career) the team has won 21 matches in a season. Friday’s loss dropped Cal State East Bay to 8-17 on the year and 6-10 in CCAA play.
Chico State jumped out to a quick 9-3 lead in the first set, fueled by a Jessica Leek service ace and kills by Makenzie Snyder, Kayla Baumgardner and Gillian Heydorff. The Wildcats had a comfortable 19-12 advantage before Cal State East Bay went on an 8-4 run to cut the deficit to three. Snyder delivered a key kill to make the score 24-20, and after once again pulling to within three points, the Pioneers committed an attack error to give Chico State the 25-21 victory.
The second set was dominated by Snyder – though Cal State East Bay was keying on the Wildcats’ top outside hitter, she pounded out seven kills in the set without committing an error. It was all tied up at 12 apiece when Chico State started to pull away, using two kills from Snyder and Heydorff and one each by Baumgardner, Leek and Jacqueline Johnson to highlight an 11-5 run to go up 23-17. It was only appropriate that Snyder deliver the kill that ended the set and give the ’Cats the 25-20 win.
The third set was a back-and-forth affair with Cal State East Bay leading most of the way. Down 20-18, Chico State scored six of the next seven points (powered by two kills by Snyder and one by Heydorff) to take a 24-21 lead and move to within one of sweeping the match. The Pioneers battled back, though, to knot up the contest at 24-all, and though Cal State East Bay was able to stave off two match points, Leek and Snyder ended the suspense with back-to-back kills to give the Wildcats the hard-fought 28-26 victory and the match.
Snyder collected 18 kills to lead the Chico State attack, posting an impressive .472 attack percentage; she also chipped in with nine digs and a service ace on the night. Heydorff posted another double-double performance with 10 kills and 11 digs; Sable Villaescusa piled up 38 assists (giving her 1,003 for the season), while Jessica Simms paced the Wildcats in digs with 13. Ariel Ajagu and Cara Crowder each had seven kills for Cal State East Bay in the losing effort.
BOX SCORE
The Wildcats are back in action Saturday afternoon, as they host UC San Diego at Acker Gym. The match is part of Chico State’s “Haunted Hall and Volleyball” promotion – youngsters are urged to come in their Halloween costumes and roam the halls of Acker Gym from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., where Wildcat athletes (dressed in uniform) will be waiting at each coach’s office door, handing out treats. The costumed kids and their parents will then receive free admission to the ’Cats-Tritons volleyball match beginning at 4:00 p.m.
