CHICO – The Chico State volleyball team matched its longest winning streak of the season Saturday, but Cal Poly Pomona made them do it the hard way – the Wildcats, down two sets to one and seemingly on the ropes, stepped up to take the fourth and fifth sets in convincing fashion to win their fourth in a row, posting a 25-17, 22-25, 21-25, 25-13, 15-9 victory over the visiting Broncos at Acker Gym.
Saturday’s win moved Chico State to 8-2 on the season and into sole possession of fourth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings with a 3-1 conference mark. Cal Poly Pomona dropped its fourth decision on a conference season-opening five match road trip to fall to 4-5 overall and 1-4 in CCAA play.
It was a true team victory for the Wildcats, with several players coming up big on the stat sheet. Jessica Leek hammered home 15 kills, collected 14 digs and dropped in three service aces, with Jacqueline Johnson adding 14 kills. Sable Villaescusa handed out 42 assists, while Lauren Orozco and Jessica Simms contributed 27 and 15 digs, respectively. Collectively, Chico State registered eight team blocks and seven service aces on the night.
Led by a kill and two service aces by Leek, Chico State roared out to a 5-0 lead and never trailed in the opening set. Cal Poly Pomona got as close as 14-10, but three errors by the Broncos coupled with a Simms service ace and kills by Johnson and Lindsay Quigley pushed the Wildcats advantage to 20-13, and Chico State cruised to the 25-17 victory.
The second set was a different story, as Pomona led most of the way. Down 18-11, the Wildcats made a run to pull to within two – kills by Snyder, Johnson, Quigley and Alex Shurtz highlighted a 8-3 run to make the score 21-19. The ’Cats couldn’t quite overtake the Broncos, who used two kills by Jamie Kidd and one from Karissa Lagmay to register the 25-22 win and square the match at one set apiece.
Chico State led for most of the third set but couldn’t hold it – up 17-14, the Wildcats saw Pomona score six of the next eight points to take a 20-19 lead, and despite late kills by Quigley and Shurtz, the Broncos rode three Lagmay kills to a 25-21 win to take a two sets to one lead in the match.
The Wildcats dug deep to square the match with an impressive fourth set – kills by Johnson, Leek, Shurtz and Snyder set the tone as Chico State grabbed an early 8-3 lead. Pomona trailed 9-5 when the ’Cats ripped off six straight points – highlighted by two Leek kills and a Villaescusa service ace – to kick off a 13-4 run and go up 22-9. Johnson delivered two late kills to power Chico State to the 25-13 win and set up a fifth and deciding set.
Once again, the Wildcats were quick out of the box, using kills by Shurtz, Johnson, Snyder and Villaescusa to build an 8-2 lead. The Broncos – playing their third match in as many nights – could get no closer than four points the rest of the way, as Leek delivered the decisive kill that gave Chico State the 15-9 win and the five-set match victory.
BOX SCORE
Chico State hits the road next weekend, traveling to southern California to take on two of the CCAA’s top teams. Friday the Wildcats are in San Bernardino to take on the No. 3 ranked Coyotes, then head to La Jolla Saturday to square off against No. 12 UC San Diego. Both matches are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
