Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 ARCATA – A hungry and aggressive Chico State volleyball team kicked off the 2012 season with authority Friday, trailing just three times the entire afternoon en route to winning six straight sets and posting a pair of victories in the first day of action at the Humboldt State Volleyball Tournament. The Wildcats defeated Dominican University 25-10, 25-16, 25-22, then handed Holy Names University a 25-16, 25-15, 25-17 defeat at Lumberjack Arena.

With the victories, Chico State begins the 2012 campaign with a 2-0 record, marking the fourth time in the last five years the Wildcats have won their first two matches of the season.

Alex Shurtz proved to be the big hitter of the day, leading four ’Cats in double-digit kills with 24. Jessica Leek added 17 kills over the six sets, with Lindsay Quigley delivering 13 non-returnables and Ellie Larronde adding 10 kills. Sable Villaescusa began her senior season by doling out 64 assists, while Jessica Simms provided a team-high 19 digs. Emily Duran had the hot hand from the serving line Friday, pacing the Wildcats with three aces.


The Wildcats and Penguins played a much tighter second set, but with Chico State up 14-12, the ’Cats pulled away by scoring seven unanswered points – two coming off of Leek kills, with Dominican committing three attack errors. With the score 22-16, the Wildcats’ Lauren Orozco held service the rest of the way, posting an ace to help cement the 25-16 win.

The third set looked like it might go Dominican’s way, as the Penguins built an 18-13 lead. Chico State rebounded to reel off five straight points, then after briefly falling behind 19-18, the Wildcats took the lead for good with a 5-1 run, as Shurtz, Sims, Quigley and Molly Ratto all chipped in with kills. The Penguins pulled to within two at 24-22, but a kill by Leek sealed the deal as the ’Cats posted the 25-22 win to take the match three sets to none.

An hour later Chico State was back on the floor facing Holy Names, who opened the Humboldt State Volleyball Tournament with a three-set loss to Cal Baptist. The Wildcats continued their winning ways, jumping out to a quick 8-1 lead in the opening set courtesy of three kills by Shurtz and one apiece from Leek and Larronde. The Hawks pulled to within 10-8, but the Wildcats used kills by Leek and Quigley plus a Leek service ace to rip off eight straight points and balloon their lead to 10. Chico State extended its advantage to 22-10 before Holy Names closed the gap with a late 6-2 run. Leek put an end to any Hawks comeback hopes with a kill that gave the Wildcats the 25-16 win.

The second set saw the ’Cats race out to an 8-0 lead, with the offense sharing the wealth – kills by Leek, Shurtz and Hanna Wilkins set the tone as Chico State built a quick 22-11 advantage and went on to cruise to a 25-15 victory.

It was Holy Names that grabbed the early lead in the third set, but with the score 7-6, the Wildcats began to grind the Hawks down. A Duran service ace and kills by Larronde, Shurtz and Quigley highlighted an 8-0 run to put Chico State in front 14-7. Holy Names could get no closer than five points the rest of the way – with the score 17-12, Larronde, Quigley and Villaescusa provided key kills to lead a 6-3 run to give the ’Cats a commanding 23-15 lead. Leek again brought the hammer down a final time to give Chico State the 25-17 win and the match victory.

The Wildcats wrap up the Humboldt State Volleyball Tournament Saturday with a 5 p.m. match against Cal Baptist. Fans can follow the action via Live Stats as well as a live online video stream.

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CLICK HERE for the Humboldt State Volleyball Tournament page