CHICO – After suffering back-to-back losses for the first time all season, the Chico State volleyball team is faced with the challenge of returning to the win column on the road. Since cracking the national top 25 rankings two weeks ago, the Wildcats have been playing with a target squarely on their back, and it’ll be the same scenario this weekend, as the ’Cats take on Cal Poly Pomona Friday and San Francisco State Saturday in key California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) matches. First serve will be at 7 both nights.  

Chico State enters the weekend 14-5 on the season and in a tie for third place with UC San Diego in the CCAA standings with a 9-4 conference mark. Last weekend’s losses to Humboldt State and Sonoma State knocked the Wildcats out of the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Coaches Poll, but Chico State remains very much in the hunt for an NCAA Championship Tournament berth. Among CCAA teams, the ’Cats rank third in hitting percentage (.236), fourth in assists (12.50 a set) and fifth in kills (13.33 per set).

A generous handful of Chico State players are ranked among the conference leaders in several statistical categories. Jessica Leek is seventh in service aces (0.35 a set), eighth in kills (3.31 per set) and points (3.88 a set), and ninth in hitting percentage (.310). Makenzie Snyder ranks 10th in points (3.67 a set), and is just outside the CCAA top 10 in kills (3.26 per set). Sable Villaescusa tops all conference setters, averaging 10.89 assists a set, while Lindsay Quigley (sixth, .338) and Jacqueline Johnson (eighth, .313) are in the CCAA top 10 in hitting percentage. Lauren Orozco also ranks ninth in the conference in digs (3.79 per set).


Cal Poly Pomona, Chico State’s Friday night opponent, heads into the weekend with a 9-10 season record and is tied for seventh place in the CCAA with a 6-8 conference mark. The Broncos have lost three straight matches, falling to Cal State San Bernardino and UC San Diego last weekend, followed by a non-conference sweep Tuesday at the hands of Cal Baptist. While Pomona doesn’t rank among the conference leaders statistically, the Broncos are formidable at the net, averaging 1.89 blocks a set.

Pomona features four hitters who have posted over 100 kills on the season: seniors Kristin McNeese (2.47 a set) and Karissa Lagmay (2.08), and juniors Diana Lake (2.06) and Taylr Kreutziger (2.11). Kreutziger leads the Broncos with 58 blocks, and sophomore setter Katie Colon ranks 10th in the CCAA in assists, averaging 7.06 per set.

Pomona leads the all-time series with Chico State 23-12, but the Wildcats have won the last two meetings dating back to last season, including a five-set victory Sept. 17 at Acker Gym.

When Chico State visits San Francisco State Saturday night, the Gators will be wrapping up a long six-match homestand. San Francisco State, which enters weekend play 10-9 overall and in a tie for seventh in the CCAA with a 6-8 conference mark, has also struggled of late, dropping three straight decisions including matchups last weekend with UC San Diego and Cal State San Bernardino. Statistically, the Gators match up pretty evenly with the Wildcats, ranking fourth in the CCAA in kills (13.33 a set), assists (12.50 per set) and digs (16.26 a set).

San Francisco State is led by senior middle hitter Halimah Oswald, who has hammered home a team-high 185 kills and is ninth in the CCAA in blocks (0.84 a set). Junior opposite hitter Megan Johnson averages 2.66 kills per set, while junior setter Iris Tolenada is second in the conference in assists (10.75 a set) and senior libero/defensive specialist Sarah Kurfess ranks fifth in the CCAA in digs (4.20 per set).

All-time, Chico State has beaten San Francisco State in 33 of 48 meetings. This season, the Wildcats defeated the Gators in four sets Sept. 16 in Chico, and have won 13 of the last 14 matches between the two teams dating back to 2001.

Wildcat fans can follow the action of both matches on Livestats via the Wildcat Athletics website.