Box Score SAN BERNARDINO – The San Diego-San Bernardino road swing has been the toughest leg of the season for the Chico State volleyball team for well over a decade. The Wildcats have only won twice against the Tritons in their last 10 meetings at RIMAC Arena, and Cody Hein entered Saturday’s match against San Bernardino 0-11 at Coussoulis Arena since taking over as head coach in 2003. The Coyotes wrapped up the ’Cats’ winless weekend set defeating Chico State 11-25, 25-23, 15-25, 19-25, making Hein and the Wildcats continue to wait for that elusive “W” in San Berdoo.
Chico State, which entered the weekend in sole possession of first place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), dropped to 10-3 overall and into a tie for fifth place with a 4-2 conference record. Cal State San Bernardino used its fifth straight win to improve to 8-6 on the season and stay tied atop the CCAA standings with a 5-1 conference record.
Alex Shurtz registered double-digit kills for the 13th straight time this season, blasting 21 winners to lead the Wildcats. Ellie Larronde had 10 kills on the evening, while Sable Villaescusa doled out 44 assists and posted a team-high 15 digs. Lauren Orozco and Emily Duran contributed 13 and 12 digs, respectively.
Cal State San Bernardino was in control for nearly the entire first set. The Wildcats were trailing 6-4 when the Coyotes went on a 7-2 run to open up a 13-6 lead, and things only got worse from there for Chico State. Despite kills by Shurtz, Larronde and Hannah Wilkins, the ’Cats steadily lost ground, allowing San Bernardino to coast to a lopsided 25-11 victory.
The Wildcats grabbed an early 3-0 lead in the second set, as a Lindsay Quigley service ace and a pair of kills by Shurtz set the tone. Chico State extended its advantage to 10-4, only to see the Coyotes score seven of the next nine points to pull to within 18-15. Chico State answered with kills by Shurtz, Wilkins and Quigley to make it a 21-16 contest, but San Bernardino responded with six straight points to take a 22-21 lead. With the score tied at 23-all, Morley delivered a huge kill for Chico State, and a miscue by the Coyotes helped the Wildcats pull out a hard-earned 25-23 win to even the match.
The third set started well for Chico State, as the ’Cats took an early 3-1 lead. San Bernardino, however, scored eight of the next 10 points to go up 9-5. The Coyotes would extend their lead to 15-8 when two Larronde kills pulled the Wildcats to within five. But that would be as close as the ’Cats would get, as San Bernardino closed out the set on a 10-5 run to win going away, 25-15.
The Coyotes wasted little time establishing a lead in the fourth set, racing out to a 9-4 advantage. A service ace by Villaescusa and kills by Larronde, Quigley, Shurtz and Wilkins helped Chico State slowly chip away at the deficit, slicing San Bernardino’s lead to just two at 16-14. But San Bernardino was able to keep the ’Cats from mounting any sort of sustained run, and the Coyotes scored nine of the last 14 points to take the set 25-19 and the match.
Chico State plays its third of five straight road contests Wednesday, as the Wildcats travel to Turlock to take on Cal State Stanislaus. The match is scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m. at Fitzpatrick Arena.
