CHICO – After finally putting the albatross that was a six-match losing streak behind it, the Chico State volleyball team has turned around and posted back-to-back wins for the first time in over a month. Utilizing a balanced attack – not to mention nearly every available player – the Wildcats followed up their Friday victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills with a spirited four-set win over Cal State L.A., snapping the Golden Eagles’ four match winning streak by scores of 22-25, 25-22, 27-25 and 25-16 Saturday night at Acker Gym.
The victory – just the seventh in 35 tries all-time against Cal State L.A. – evened Chico State’s season mark at 10-10, while improving the Wildcats’ California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) conference record to 5-9. The Golden Eagles slipped to 10-7 on the year and 7-6 in CCAA play.
Chico State committed just 24 total errors on the night, and posted an impressive .268 hitting percentage in one of the Wildcats’ most focused matches of the season. The offense was evenly dispersed, with Makenzie Fahnestock collecting a match-high 16 kills, followed by Jessica Leek and Alex Shurtz with 14 apiece. Sable Villaescusa piled up 54 assists for the ’Cats, while Leek and Molly Ratto combined for 30 digs. Chico State also got the job done defensively, with 10 solo blocks – Crystal Trifeletti leading the way with three, with Fahnestock, Villaescusa and Shurtz picking up two apiece. Zuzana Cizova led four Cal State L.A. players with double-digit kills with 14; Mary Laupepa and Natalia Gonzalez had 11 non-returnables and Chelsea Hamilton contributed 10 kills for the Golden Eagles.
It looked like Friday’s victory carried over into Saturday for the Wildcats as they rode four Leek kills to an early 11-5 lead in the first set. Cal State L.A. quickly swung the momentum, though, outscoring Chico State 17-10 to take a 22-21 lead. After a Fahnestock kill tied things up at 22-all, the Wildcats committed three straight errors on offense, and the Golden Eagles emerged with the 25-22 victory.
The second set was a tightly played contest, with neither team leading by more than three points before Cal State L.A. built a seemingly comfortable 21-15 advantage. But this time it was Chico State who mounted a comeback – three kills by Trifeletti, two by Shurtz and one by Jacqueline Johnson spurred a 7-1 run to tie the set at 22 apiece. The Wildcats went on to score the next three points – the finale a booming kill by Fahnestock – to take the set 25-22 and even the match.
Chico State led nearly the entire third set, and held a 20-16 lead before the Golden Eagles climbed back into the contest by scoring eight of the next 12 points to knot things up at 24-all. Cal State L.A. was able to stave off two set points, but the Wildcats finally prevailed on back-to-back kills by Leek and Shurtz to post the 27-25 victory.
In the fourth set, the Wildcats once again jumped out to an early lead, but Cal State L.A., after trailing by as many as five, pulled to within a point at 13-12. That would turn out to be the Golden Eagles’ last hurrah, as Chico State used four Fahnestock kills to power an 11-3 run to extend its advantage to 24-15. A Hamilton kill kept Cal State L.A. alive briefly, but Shurtz answered with the kill that gave the Wildcats the set 25-16 and the match.
BOX SCORE
Chico State will hit the road next weekend, as they travel to Rohnert Park Friday to take on Sonoma State; then on Saturday it’s up to Arcata to tangle with the Lumberjacks of Humboldt State. Both matches are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
