CARSON, Calif. – Gillian Heydorff has the chance to become the first player in Chico State volleyball history to make four trips to the NCAA Championship Tournament…but to do it, she and the Wildcats entered the weekend having to beat both their final two conference opponents, Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A. Thanks to Heydorff’s 20-kill, 22-dig performance, the front end of the much-needed road sweep is officially in the books, as No. 25 Chico State downed Cal State Dominuez Hills in four sets Friday at the Torodome, by scores of 25-17, 25-19, 23-25 and 25-19.

The win improves the Wildcats’ overall record to 23-8 and 14-7 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), and sets up a must-win season finale against Cal State L.A. Chico State came into Friday’s match No. 10 in the West Region rankings, and for any chance to be among the top eight schools and earn a postseason berth, the Wildcats have to go into the Eagles Nest Saturday and defeat the 20-8 Golden Eagles, who rank 20th in the nation and No. 6 in the West Region. Friday’s loss ended the season for Cal State Dominguez Hills, which finished 2-27 on the year and 2-20 in the CCAA.

The host Toros staked themselves to a 9-6 lead early in Friday’s first set, but three kills apiece by Heydorff and Makenzie Snyder, plus two by Kayla Baumgardner keyed a 13-6 run to give Chico State a 19-15 advantage. Cal State Dominguez Hills pulled to within three at 20-17, but the Wildcats reeled off the next five points (two on Heydorff kills) to seal the 25-17 victory.

Cal State Dominguez Hills went up early in the second set as well, and still led 12-10 when Chico State tallied 10 of the next 14 points to go up 20-16 – Heydorff blasting three kills during that stretch. With the score 22-19, the Wildcats posted three straight points to triumph again – Snyder providing a set-ending service ace to give the ’Cats the 25-19 win.   

The Toros came out blazing after intermission, streaking to an 11-2 lead in the third set, but Chico State – with four kills by Heydorff and solo kills by Snyder, Jessica Leek and Jordan Bambas – went of a 13-3 run to go out in front 15-14. The Wildcats were still ahead 21-20 when Cal State Dominguez Hills got hot, scoring five of the last seven points to steal the 25-23 victory and sending the match to a fourth set.

In what turned out to be the finale, it was Chico State that grabbed the early lead, using a Leek service ace, two Baumgrder kills and five Toros miscues to go up 8-3. Cal State Dominguez Hills got as close as 14-10, but the Wildcats closed out the contest with a flurry of offense – Heydorff notching another four kills, with Jacqueline Johnson adding two and Snyder, Leek and Baumgardner adding one kill apiece – to give the ’Cats the 25-19 victory and the match.

In addition to her 20 kills and 22 digs, Heydorff posted a .340 attack percentage Friday, and her single service ace was enough to move Gillian past former teammate (and current Chico State assistant coach Jamie Houle) into the top spot in the Wildcat record books with 137 career aces. Leek finished Friday’s match with 13 kills and a .344 attack percentage, while Snyder chipped in with a dozen kills and 10 digs on the night. Sable Villaescusa piled up 54 assists, while Jessica Simms racked up 25 digs in the win over the Toros.

BOX SCORE

Saturday’s regular season finale against Cal State L.A. begins at 7:00 p.m. – you can follow the action via Live Stats through the Golden Eagles’ Athletics website (www.csulaathletics.com/custompages/livestats/gel.htm). Sunday the NCAA will announce the Championship Tournament participants from all eight regions beginning at 6:00 p.m. Pacific time at www.ncaa.com.