Saturday’s win moved the ’Cats to 5-2 on the season and evened their California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) record at 1-1. Cal State Dominguez Hills fell to 0-7 on the year and 0-2 in conference play.
Leek turned in another quality performance for Chico State, leading the Wildcats with 12 kills and posting a solid .647 hitting percentage. Fahnestock contributed in several areas, collecting eight kills, 12 digs and three service aces. Shurtz hammered out seven kills on the night, while Johnson and Trifeletti added six kills apiece. Sable Villaescusa had one of her best matches of the young season, doling out 34 assists and chipping in with a pair of kills for the victorious ’Cats. Elaine Hicks had a game-high 13 kills for the Toros.
Dominguez Hills took an early lead in the match’s opening set, but with the score 4-3, Chico State used two Fahnestock kills to spark a 7-1 run to go out in front 10-5. The Wildcats would never relinquish the lead, though the Toros used a 7-3 run to pull to within 20-19. The ‘Cats responded by reeling off five straight points – the final two on kills by Fahnestock and Johnson – to cruise to the 25-19 victory.
Chico State never trailed in the second set, using a pair of kills by Leek and one by Shurtz to jump out to a quick 7-1 advantage. With the score 10-5, the Wildcats struck for five straight – a kill and service ace by Fahnestock, and back-to-back kills by Johnson and Shurtz powered the ’Cats to a 15-5 lead. The Toros could get no closer than six points the rest of the way, as Chico State prevailed 25-16.
In the third set, the Wildcats again grabbed the early lead, but a 6-2 Dominguez Hills run put the Toros in front 9-7. Chico State answered by scoring six unanswered points, combining three Dominguez Hills attack errors with kills by Trifeletti, Leek and Shurtz to take a 13-9 lead. Molly Ratto contributed a kill and service ace to extend the ’Cats advantage to 19-13, but the Toros battled back, going on a 4-0 run to pull to within two. But it would prove to be Dominguez Hills’ last hurrah, as kills by Fahnestock, Shurtz and Villaescusa, capped with a Johnson service ace, powered the Wildcats to a 25-18 victory to take the set and the match.
BOX SCORE
Chico State will return to action this Wednesday, as the Wildcats travel to Redding to take on Simpson University in a non-conference match beginning at 7 p.m. Fans can watch all the action live on the Internet with former Chico State great Gillian Heydorff providing color commentary on UStream.com.
