SAN BERNARDINO – While Chico State volleyball head coach Cody Hein certainly won’t regard his team’s play as “perfect,” the numbers simply don’t lie – the Wildcats did not drop a single set Saturday in wrapping up the Coyote Labor Day Classic, beating Dominican University 25-14, 25-17, 25-18, then following up with a match Hein regarded as “the best a Chico State team has played in years,” surprising No. 17 Western Washington 25-16, 25-20, 29-27 at Coussoulis Arena on the Cal State San Bernardino campus. The two Saturday victories pushed the Wildcats’ current winning streak to three straight and their season record to 3-1.
Jessica Leek was the big hitter of the day for Chico State, posting double-digit kills in each of Saturday’s two matches and finishing with 23 winners and a .404 attack percentage. Makenzie Snyder added 22 unreturnables for the Wildcats, with Jacqueline Johnson and Alex Shurtz contributing 15 and 10 kills, respectively. Sable Villaescusa collected 57 assists over five sets Saturday, with Snyder piling up 26 digs.
Despite a 10 a.m. start, the Wildcats were hitting on all cylinders in the match opener against Dominican, breaking an early 3-all tie with a 15-6 run to take firm control, using a Snyder service ace and kills by Villaescusa, Johnson, Shurtz and Lindsay Quigley to build an 18-9 advantage. The Penguins couldn’t get closer than eight the rest of the way; kills by Leek, Villaescusa and Shurtz provided the final three points as Chico State won the first set 25-14.
The Wildcats and Penguins played a tight second set, but with the score 16 apiece Chico State took control by scoring nine of the final 10 points – five Snyder kills, two by Leek and a Villaescusa service ace highlighted the stretch that gave the ’Cats the 25-17 victory.
Villaescusa, Shurtz and Lauren Orozco sat out the third set, but the Wildcats had little trouble completing the match sweep – Kristan Music added three kills to go along with 10 assists, while Snyder, Leek and Johnson combined for 10 winners as the ’Cats broke a 5-5 tie with a 10-0 run to take a comfortable 15-5 lead. Dominican pulled to within six late in the contest, but Sophia Somers provided the set-winning kill to give Chico State the 25-18 victory.
BOX SCORE vs. Dominican
Chico State’s momentum rolled right into their match against Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) power Western Washington. The Wildcats never trailed in the first set, breaking open a tight 13-12 ballgame with 12-4 run to win it going away. A service ace by Orozco, kills by Leek, Villaescusa, Johnson and Snyder, and six Vikings errors moved the ’Cats to within a point of taking the set; Villaescusa delivered the winner with an ace to give Chico State a 25-16 victory.
The match’s second set saw the Wildcats hitting at a .419 clip, committing just two attack errors in a 25-20 win. With the ’Cats up 11-10, Chico State ripped off a 10-3 run – powered by three Snyder kills, two by Leek and one by Villaescusa – to extend its lead to 21-13. Western Washington closed the gap to 23-20, but the Wildcats used a Snyder kill and a Vikings error to close out the set with a five point victory.
The third set was a tightly-played marathon which featured no lead bigger than three points by either team. Chico State had its back to the wall late, but survived three straight set points to stay alive. A Johnson kill put the Wildcats up 27-26, only to see Western Washington knot up the score. The ’Cats quickly regrouped, wrapping up the set and the match on a Johnson kill and an error by last year’s GNAC Player of the Year, Emily Jepsen, to post the 29-27 victory. The win marked the first time since 1989 that a Chico State team had beaten Western Washington on the volleyball court.
BOX SCORE vs. Western Washington
Following the Coyote Classic, Snyder and Villaescusa were named to the all-tournament team.
Chico State is back in action Tuesday, traveling to Rocklin to take on William Jessup. The match is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
