SAN BERNARDINO – The Chico State volleyball team opened its 2011 season Friday by splitting a pair of matches during play at the Coyote Labor Day Classic, hosted by Cal State San Bernardino. The Wildcats went five sets before falling to Alaska Anchorage 25-23, 23-25, 21-25, 25-17, 8-15 in the first match of the year, but bounced back later in the day to down Western Oregon in four sets by scores of 19-25, 25-21, 25-22, and 25-12.
Makenzie Snyder, seeing her first action in over a year, returned to the Chico State lineup with authority, collecting 38 total kills on the day. Jacqueline Johnson was also an offensive force for the ’Cats, recording 19 kills, while Alex Shurtz hammered home 19 winners and Jessica Leek added 18 unreturnables. Wildcat setter Sable Villaescusa piled up 86 assists over Friday’s nine sets, with newcomer Lauren Orozco leading six Chico State players in double digit digs with 29.
Chico State erased an early 3-2 deficit in the opening set against Alaska Anchorage, using an 8-3 run to go up 10-6, and the Wildcats never relinquished the lead – a Snyder kill provided the game winner as the ’Cats outlasted the Seawolves 25-23. The second set was a more tightly player affair, but this time it was Chico State that trailed most of the way. The Wildcats used kills by Snyder and Lindsay Quigley to key a 5-1 run to tie the score at 16-all, but the Seawolves quickly regained the lead and kept the ’Cats at bay, squeezing out a 25-23 victory.
Alaska Anchorage went up two sets to one with a 25-21 win, wiping out a 13-10 Wildcat lead by scoring 11 of the next 14 points to go up 21-16. Chico State pulled to within 23-21, but a Robyn Burton kill and an attack error by Jessica Leek cemented the Seawolves’ 25-21 victory. Chico State took control early in the fourth set, using a pair of Leek service aces and kills by Snyder, Johnson, Villaescusa and Shurtz to build a 12-2 lead. Alaska Anchorage could get no closer than five points the rest of the way; the Wildcats evening up the match with a 25-17 win.
It was all Seawolves in the fifth and deciding set, scoring eight of the first nine points, and despite a kill and an ace by Leek plus kills by Snyder, Johnson and Villaescusa, Alaska Anchorage cruised to a 15-8 victory to win the match and improve to 3-2 on the season. Snyder finished with 27 kills in the losing cause, with Johnson adding a dozen; Villaescusa collected 47 assists for the Wildcats.
BOX SCORE vs. Alaska Anchorage
Chico State got off to a slow start in the day’s second match against a very good Western Oregon team, letting an early first set lead get away and allowing the Wolves to go on a 17-6 run to take a commanding 21-12 advantage. The Wildcats tried to battle back with kills by Johnson, Leek and Snyder, and a Jessica Simms service ace to slice the deficit to 22-19, but Western Oregon used three straight kills by Krissi Kemper and Danielle Reese to come away with the 25-19 win. The ’Cats evened up the match in the second set – trailing 14-13, kills by six different Chico State hitters helped put the Wildcats in front, 22-17. Western Oregon scored four straight to pull to within a point, but the ’Cats finished on a 3-0 run to prevail, 25-21.
Chico State won a tight third set – after building up a 15-10 lead, Western Oregon tied the score five times before the Wildcats used kills by Leek, Quigley and Shurtz to break a 19-all deadlock and win going away, 25-22. The ’Cats never trailed in the fourth and final set, jumping out to a quick 7-1 lead and then scoring 10 of the final 16 points – six coming on Western Oregon errors – to post a 25-12 victory and win their first match of the season. The Wolves, who lost to host school Cal State San Bernardino Thursday in the tournament opener, dropped to 0-2 on the year.
BOX SCORE vs. Western Oregon
Chico State wraps up the Coyote Labor Day Classic with two more matches Saturday. The Wildcats square off with Dominican at 10 a.m., followed by a 2:30 p.m. bout against No. 17 Western Washington.
