Box Score SAN BERNARDINO – Beating Cal State San Bernardino in volleyball – it's a goal just about every team in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) aspires to, with very few succeeding. Chico State went into Thursday's contest with the Coyotes riding a three-match winning streak and confident that it could notch the sought-after "W" against the eight-time defending conference champions, but once again the Wildcats came away empty-handed. San Bernardino, ranked No. 9 in the nation, swept the 'Cats 13-25, 20-25, 23-25 at Coussoulis Arena.
Thursday's loss dropped Chico State to 5-4 overall and into a tie for fourth place in the CCAA standings with a 3-2 conference record. Cal State San Bernardino improved to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in CCAA play, catching UC San Diego atop the conference standings.
Shannon Boling led the Wildcats with 10 kills, with Lindsay Quigley adding nine kills on the night. Torey Thompson handed out 29 assists, while Emily Duran and Shannon Cotton combined for 18 digs. Chico State was held to a hitting percentage of .174, with Cal State San Bernardino making good on 36 percent of its attack attempts.
Cal State San Bernardino took control of the first set early, scoring the first two points and never trailing. Chico State was unable to generate much offense, with nearly half the Wildcats' points coming courtesy of Coyote miscues. Two Quigley kills and a solo block by Thompson helped pull the 'Cats to within two at 7-5, but from there it was all San Bernardino, which took control of the contest with a steady 12-5 run to go up 19-10, ultimately cruising to the 25-13 win.
Cal State San Bernardino jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second set, but the 'Cats quickly crept to within two thanks to kills by Boling and Ashton Kershner. The Coyotes answered with four unanswered points to push the advantage to six, but Chico State stayed close, four times cutting the deficit to four on the strength of kills by Boling and Ellie Larronde and blocks from Larronde, Kershner and Hannah Wilkins. Cal State San Bernardino was successful in keeping the 'Cats from mounting a prolonged run, and pushed its lead to 24-17. Chico State survived three set points with kills by Quigley, Kershner and Boling, but a service error handed the Coyotes the final point and a 25-20 victory.
The final set saw six tie scores and a pair of lead changes early in the contest before Cal State San Bernardino went out in front 11-8. Kills by Quigley and Kristyn Casalino, a Casalino block and a Cotton service ace knotted things up at 16-apiece, but the Coyotes posted seven of the next nine points to take a 23-18 lead. The Wildcats refused to roll over, as kills by Thompson and Olivia Mediano, a Thompson ace and a combo block from Casalino and Natalie Nordahl got the 'Cats to within 24-23, but All-CCAA standout Alexandra Torline delivered the back-breaker with a kill that gave San Bernardino the 25-23 win and the match sweep.
The Wildcats will spend Friday traveling before wrapping up their long road trip Saturday in Arcata against Humboldt State (6-3, 3-2 CCAA). The match gets underway at 7 p.m.
