ARCATA – Even though the Chico State volleyball team has struggled at times this season and the chances of reaching postseason play are remote at best, the 2010 campaign will still be remembered fondly for a special milestone in the career of Wildcat Head Coach Cody Hein. Chico State’s five-set triumph (17-25, 25-10, 25-21, 16-25, 15-12) over Humboldt State Saturday night at Lumberjack Arena was the 124th victory for Hein since taking over the program in 2003, moving him past Jim Brinton and making Hein the winningest volleyball coach in school history.
Saturday’s victory – the Wildcats’ third in the last four matches – put Chico State back at the .500 mark for the season at 11-11 overall, and improved the ’Cats California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) record to 6-10. Humboldt State, still winless at home this season, dropped its fourth straight decision to fall to 1-18 on the year and 1-14 in conference play.
Alex Shurtz had a match-high 18 kills for the Wildcats – her eighth straight contest with double-digit kills – while Jessica Leek added 10 kills and 13 digs. Jacqueline Johnson led all players with 20 digs, with Sable Villaescusa adding 41 assists and three service aces to the ’Cats victory. Oceana Matsubu led Humboldt State with 17 kills and 11 digs in the losing effort.
Chico State opened the first set with a quick 4-1 lead, thanks to a Shurtz kill and service aces by Villaescusa and Jessica Simms. Humboldt State, though, answered with four straight points to go up 5-4. The set was tied at 10 apiece when the Lumberjacks went on an 11-3 run to jump to take control of the contest; with the score 23-17, a Taylor Manuel kill and a Wildcat error provided Humboldt State with the points needed to wrap up the 25-17 win.
The ’Cats came back with authority, never trailing in the second set. Leek, Shurtz and Makenzie Fahnestock each posted a pair of kills as Chico State built an early 10-4 advantage. Humboldt State crept to within four points at 13-9, but the Wildcats eliminated any chance of a Lumberjacks comeback by scoring 12 of the next 13 points – four coming on kills by Shurtz – to cruise to the match-tying 25-10 victory.
The third set was a tight, see-saw battle early on, with neither team leading by more than two points. Down 12-11, the Wildcats pulled away using an 11-3 run to go up 22-15 – Leek led the way with two kills, with Shurtz and Johnson each providing kills and Simms chipping in with a service ace. Humboldt State made a late run to pull to within 23-20, but a Lumberjacks net violation and a Shurtz kill cemented Chico State’s 25-21 win.
Humboldt State wasn’t going to go down without a fight, though, using a 6-0 run to jump out to a 7-1 lead in the fourth set. The Wildcats were down 12-4 before scoring seven of the next nine points – fueled by two Crystal Trifeletti kills and one each by Leek and Fahnestock – to pull to within 14-11. Humboldt State responded with a 5-1 run to extend its lead to 19-12, and Chico State could get no closer than five points the rest of the way, as the Lumberjacks tied up the match with a 25-16 victory.
Chico State, however, was not going to drop a second straight five-set decision, but Humboldt State made the Wildcats work for it. Two Villaescusa service aces and kills by Leek and Trifeletti powered the ’Cats to a quick 4-0 lead in the deciding set; the Lumberjacks came back to tie things up at five apiece. The set was still knotted up at seven-all when two Villaescusa kills and a Lumberjacks service error made the score 10-8 and put Chico State in front for good. Leek closed out the match with her 10th kill of the night, giving the Wildcats the 15-12 win and Hein his record-setting 124th victory as Wildcat head coach.
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Chico State returns to action next weekend, as the Wildcats travel to Hayward Friday to take on Cal State East Bay, then head to southern California Saturday for a battle with UC San Diego. Both matches are scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m.
