Box Score CHICO – No doubt about it: the Chico State and Cal Poly Pomona volleyball teams are very evenly matched. The first time the two squads met this season, the Wildcats came from behind to topple the Broncos in five sets in Pomona, and Saturday's rematch at Acker Gym was nearly a carbon copy of that earlier contest – only this time with the other team in the winner's circle. In a match where the momentum swung like a pendulum the entire evening, the visiting Broncos shook off a two sets to one deficit to come back and down the Wildcats 25-21, 15-25, 14-25, 25-19, 15-12.
 
Saturday's loss dropped Chico State to 8-9 on the season and into eighth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 6-7 conference mark. Cal Poly Pomona won its fourth straight match to improve to 10-6 overall and 8-5 in CCAA play.

 

Ellie Larronde led the Wildcats with 15 kills to go along with 13 digs on the night. Lindsay Quigley added a dozen kills, while Kristyn Casalino matched her career high with 11 kills. Olivia Mediano posted her best-ever effort as a Wildcat, delivering 11 kills, a career-high 21 digs and seven service aces – just two shy of the school record. Torey Thompson doled out 51 assists and chipped in with 11 digs, while Emily Duran piled up 20 digs for the 'Cats.
 
The Wildcats and Broncos split the first 18 points of the opening set before two Mediano aces and a Larronde kill led to four unanswered points and a 13-9 Chico State lead. Cal Poly Pomona responded with a 12-3 run to go up 21-16, but kills by Mediano and Shannon Boling helped the 'Cats pull to within 22-20. The Broncos withstood the late Wildcat charge, scoring three of the final four points to win 25-21.
 
Pomona picked up where it left off in the second set, building an early 4-1 advantage. Chico State answered with kills from Thompson, Larronde and Casalino and were the beneficiaries of five Broncos miscues to fuel a 9-3 run that put the 'Cats in front 10-7. The Broncos came back to knot things up at 10-apiece, but that would be their last hurrah, as the Wildcats ripped off 14 of the next 17 points – Quigley and Larronde providing multiple kills and Thompson three straight aces during the run – to go up 24-13, and Casalino provided the final kill that gave Chico State the 25-15 victory.
 
The third set was all Chico State – kills by Larronde, Quigley and Thompson plus solo blocks by Larronde and Quigley propelled the 'Cats to a quick 10-3 lead, and suddenly reeling Pomona could get no closer than five points the rest of the way. With the score 14-9, the Wildcats fashioned a 7-2 run, then Casalino and Boling provided the final four points on three kills and a combo block to give Chico State a convincing 25-14 win.
 
Pomona was down but not out. They broke open a 10-all tie in the fourth set with a 10-3 run, and though the Wildcats battled back and whittled the deficit to three at 22-19, their comeback attempt simply ran out of time, as the Broncos posted the final three points to win 25-19 and force a fifth set.
 
Pomona built an early 7-4 lead in the decider, but Chico State got two kills apiece from Boling and Mediano and one by Casalino to surge ahead 9-8. It would turn out to be the final time the Wildcats would hold the lead. With the score tied at 12-all, the Broncos took control, using an Alexa Hasen kill, a Nicoletta Stork ace and a Wildcat error to tally the final three points to win 15-12 and take the five-set thriller.  
 
Chico State hits the road next weekend for its next two conference matches. The Wildcats will be in Seaside Friday to take on Cal State Monterey Bay, followed by a Saturday showdown with Cal State East Bay in Hayward. Both matches are scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.