Box Score CHICO – If you're going to compete in the always-tough California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), you better make sure to take care of business at home. The Chico State volleyball team, playing its first matches of the season at Acker Gym, did just that, capping a perfect 3-0 week on its home floor Saturday by downing Cal State Monterey Bay 25-13, 25-19, 24-26, 25-14, vaulting the Wildcats into the upper region of the conference standings.
 
Saturday's win improved Chico State's season record to 5-3 and put the Wildcats into a tie for second place in the CCAA with a 3-1 conference mark, just one-half game behind first place UC San Diego. Cal State Monterey Bay, after winning its first game of the season Friday against Cal State Stanislaus, dropped to 1-6 on the year and 1-3 in CCAA play.

 

Chico State once again used all of its offensive weapons, with four hitters posting double-digit kills against the Otters. Ellie Larronde led the way with a season-high 19 winners, while Lindsay Quigley notched 16 kills for the second straight night. Shannon Boling had 12 kills and Kristyn Casalino added a career-best 11. Torey Thompson dished out 58 assists and registered 13 digs; Shannon Cotton had a dozen digs and a pair of service aces, and Emily Duran's 24 digs made her just the fifth player in Chico State history to record 1,000 career digs.
 
The Wildcats used a pair of healthy runs and a team attack percentage of .438 to sprint to victory in the opening set. With the score tied at five, a Duran ace and kills from Larronde, Boling, Casalino, Quigley, Thompson, Cotton and Hannah Wilkins fueled an 11-4 run to put Chico State up 16-9. Monterey Bay closed to within six at 18-12, only to see the 'Cats post seven of the set's final eight points – Boling provided the final exclamation point with a kill that gave Chico State a 25-13 win.
 
The second set was much tighter, as the Wildcats and Otters battled through 12 tie scores and four lead changes. With the contest knotted up at 16-apiece, Chico State finally established the upper hand – three Quigley kills and one by Casalino powered a 7-2 run to put the 'Cats up 23-18, and Thompson put the set away with an ace to give Chico State the 25-19 victory.
 
The 'Cats were thinking match sweep as they rode two aces by Cotton and multiple kills by Larronde, Quigley, Boling and Casalino to a 15-12 lead. Monterey Bay rallied, however, scoring 12 of the next 18 points to go up 24-21. Chico State survived three set points to tie the score at 24-all, but the Otters answered with back-to-back kills by Jessica Malcolm and Victoria Clardy to pull out a 26-24 win to force a fourth set.
 
In what would turn out to be the final set, the two teams were tied at eight-apiece when the Wildcats began to steadily pull away. Kills by Wilkins, Larronde and Quigley and a combo block by Casalino/Thompson put Chico State on top 15-10, and after Monterey Bay scored the next two points, the Wildcats ripped off a 10-4 run, scoring the final eight points in succession (three on Larronde kills) to run away with the 25-14 win to secure the match.       
 
Chico State hits the road next week for a pair of important CCAA matchups. Thursday the Wildcats are in southern California to take on Cal State San Bernardino, followed by a Saturday tilt in Arcata against Humboldt State. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m.