Box Score CHICO – The Chico State volleyball team continued its dominance at Acker Gym Friday night against Cal State Dominguez Hills, winning its fourth straight home decision of the season in by sweeping the Toros 25-16, 25-15, 25-14. It marked the 66th time in 94 matches (a .702 winning percentage) dating back to the tail end of the 2005 season that the Wildcats have emerged victorious in the friendly confines of the nearly 55-year-old gymnasium.
The win – Chico State's second in a row and fifth in the last seven outings – moves the Wildcats to 7-5 on the season and into a three-way tie for fourth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 5-3 conference record. Cal State Dominguez Hills dropped its ninth straight decision to fall to 1-11 overall and 0-8 in CCAA play.
Shannon Boling and Lindsay each rapped out a dozen kills on the night to lead the 'Cats, with Ellie Larronde chipping in with six kills and a team-time 10 digs. Torey Thompson doled out 29 assists, while Shannon Cotton tied her single-match career high with four service aces. Anna Baytosh also posted a pair of aces in the Wildcats win.
Chico State played a virtually perfect opening set, committing no attack errors while rolling up an impressive .556 hitting percentage. Still, it was a tight 8-7 contest before the Wildcats slowly pulled away with a 7-1 run, highlighted by three Quigley kills and a Baytosh ace. Dominguez Hills pulled to within 16-13, but that was as close as the Toros would get, as a Cotton ace and kills by Larronde, Thompson, Quigley, Ashton Kershner and Hannah Wilkins fueled a 9-3 run to give the 'Cats the 25-16 victory.
Chico State led from start to finish in the second set, charging out to a huge 16-4 lead on the strength of kills by Quigley, Boling, Kershner and Larronde and a Quigley/Wilkins combo block. The Wildcats stretched the advantage to 22-8, and though Dominguez Hills fashioned a late 6-1 run to creep to within nine, a pair of Toros service errors gave the 'Cats the points they needed to secure the 25-15 victory.
Dominguez Hills refused to roll over in the third set, taking an early 5-3 lead and were still up 8-7 when Chico State took control with a 7-1 run – Cotton coming through with three consecutive aces – to move ahead 14-9. The Toros stayed close, moving to within 17-13 before the 'Cats put things away, scoring eight of the final nine points – Boling, Kershner, Quigley and Larronde all contributed kills, Kershner picked up an ace and teamed with Larronde for a combo block – to give the Wildcats the 25-14 win and the match sweep.
Chico State wraps up its busy week Saturday, hosting conference leader Cal State L.A. (9-2, 7-1 CCAA) beginning at 7 p.m. It's also CARD Youth Sports Night at Acker Gym, with a special player autograph session scheduled following the match.
