Two evenly-matched volleyball teams converged on Acker Gym Friday night, and as expected locked horns for an evenly-matched contest that swung back and forth like a pendulum the entire evening. When the smoke cleared after five hard-fought sets, the visiting Cal Poly Pomona Broncos finally prevailed over the Chico State Wildcats, coming back from a 2-1 deficit to win 25-27, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 15-11.
Chico State dropped its second straight decision to slip to 14-6 overall and 6-4 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Cal Poly Pomona won its third in a row to improve to 11-6 on the year and 7-2 in CCAA play.
Four Wildcats registered double-digits kills in the losing effort. Olivia Mediano led the way with 18 winners to go along with 13 digs and three blocks. Shannon Boling delivered 17 kills and a pair of blocks, while Ashton Kershner collected 15 kills, two blocks and two service aces. Torey Thompson had a huge night: in addition to 10 kills, 14 digs and 55 assists, the junior became just the fourth setter in Chico State history to rack up 3,000 career assists. Shannon Cotton piled up a match-high 28 digs on the night.
Chico State came out firing in the match's first set, using kills by Kershner, Thompson, Mediano, Boling, Shelby Frank and Hannah Wilkins to build a 15-9 lead. Pomona slowly whittled down the deficit, eventually catching the Wildcats a 23-all. The 'Cats twice served for set point, but the Broncos continued to battle, and with the score knotted up at 25-apiece, a pair of Pomona errors gave Chico State the 27-25 victory.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 12-9 lead in the second set, only to see Pomona catch and overtake the 'Cats at 16-15. With the score 19-all, the Broncos went ahead to stay, and despite late kills by Boling and Frank, Pomona posted a 25-22 win to even the match.
The third set was truly a back-and-forth affair, with 15 tie scores and six lead changes. Pomona went out in front 20-19 before Chico State went on a decisive 6-3 run – a Kershner service ace and kills by Thompson, Wilkins and Mediano powering the Wildcats to a 25-23 victory.
Set number four looked like it would go Chico State's way, as the Wildcats went up 14-11. The Broncos, needing a victory to force a fifth set, proved up to the challenge, using a 5-0 run to grab the lead at 16-14. The Wildcats answered with a Thompson kill and a Thompson/Wilkins combo block to knot up the contest, but the Broncos outscored Chico State 9-3 down the stretch to win going away 25-19.
The 'Cats took the early lead in the fifth and deciding set – kills by Boling, Thompson, Wilkins, Mediano and Anna Baytosh put Chico State on top 7-5. It would prove to be the Wildcats' last hurrah – Pomona went on an 8-2 run to surge in front 13-9, and though Kershner came through with a pair of late kills, it wasn't enough to keep the Wildcats from falling 15-11, giving the Broncos the match victory.
The Wildcats are back in action Saturday at 7 p.m. when they host Cal State Monterey Bay (4-10, 3-6 CCAA) at Acker Gym. Fans unable to attend in person can follow the action online with Live Stats and live streaming video via the Wildcat Athletics website.
