CHICO – The Chico State volleyball team is off to another great start, but Head Coach Cody Hein cautions that his young band of Wildcats are still feeling their way through the first part of the 2010 season. “People tend to forget how young we are,” Hein said after Friday’s match with visiting Humboldt State, and after handily taking the first two sets, the ’Cats – who have no seniors and only four juniors on their roster – had difficulty coming together to put the hammer down against the winless Lumberjacks. After losing the third set, Chico State battled to win the finale and take the match by scores of 25-11, 25-16, 22-25 and 25-21.
The win, Chico State’s third straight, improved the Wildcats’ season record to 7-2 while moving them into a tie for third place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 2-1 conference mark. Humboldt State fell to 0-7 on the year and 0-3 in CCAA play.
Makenzie Fahnestock led the Chico State offense Friday, registering 13 kills; Jessica Leek added seven kills, Alex Shurtz collected six non-returnables, while Crystal Trifeletti and Sable Villaescusa contributed five kills apiece. Jacqueline Johnson connected for five of the Wildcats’ nine service aces on the night; Villaescusa piled up 29 assists, and Molly Ratto delivered a big all-around performance for the ’Cats, collecting a kill, two assists and a team-high 20 digs.
Chico State blew open the first set almost immediately, snapping a three-all tie by going on an impressive 12-0 run, featuring four Fahnestock kills, and though Humboldt State closed to within 10 points at 20-10, kills by Fahnestock, Shurtz and Ratto down the stretch did the Lumberjacks in as the Wildcats closed out the 25-11 victory.
Another big Chico State run was the turning point of the second set – down 13-9, the ’Cats proceeded to score 12 of the next 14 points to go up 21-15. Johnson delivered three aces during the streak, with Leek smacking three kills to swing the momentum back to the Wildcats. With the score 21-16, kills by Fahnestock and Trifeletti combined with a pair of Humboldt State errors sealed the deal, as Chico State prevailed by a final of 25-16.
The match looked like it was going to be a Wildcat sweep as Chico State led 19-17 late in the third set. But suddenly the youthful ’Cats got tentative, and couldn’t deliver the knockout punch – the Lumberjacks took advantage of six Wildcat errors to score eight of the last 11 points and pull out the 25-22 come-from-behind victory.
Chico State led all the way in the fourth and final set, but the pesky Lumberjacks would not make it easy. The Wildcats could not extend their advantage past four points, and Humboldt’s aggressive play brought the Lumberjacks to within 22-21. But another Humboldt State comeback was dashed when a Leek kill sandwiched between two Lumberjack errors gave Chico State the 25-22 fourth set win and the match victory.
BOX SCORE
The Wildcats are back in action Saturday night, as they take on Sonoma State at 7 p.m. The Seawolves (4-3 on the season, 1-2 in the CCAA) come to Acker Gym after snapping a three-match losing streak Friday in Turlock against Cal State Stanislaus. Fans unable to make the game in person can follow the action via Live Stats, available on the Wildcat Athletics website. Saturday’s contest will also be broadcast live on the Internet on UStream, with former Chico State great Gillian Heydorff providing color commentary.
CLICK HERE to be connected to the Wildcats’ Internet broadcast.
