ROHNERT PARK – The Chico State volleyball team didn't finish the 2015 regular season the way it planned Saturday, falling victim in straight sets (14-25, 16-25, 15-25) to California Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAA) front-runner and 18th-ranked Sonoma State. But the Wildcats still had reason to smile – they've still got more volleyball to play. Heading to postseason play for the first time in seven years, the 'Cats get the chance to pay the Seawolves back next week in the first round of the CCAA Championship Tournament.
When the dust settled Saturday, Chico State garnered the eighth and final seed in the first-ever conference volleyball tournament. The Wildcats' reward is a return engagement with Sonoma State, the number one seed, Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla.
Chico State Cody Hein admitted following Saturday's match his Wildcats have some work to do if they expect to move past the tourney's opening round. "There's not any reason for Sonoma to change its game plan," he said. "From that vantage point, we can change some things and hopefully have an advantage from a game plan standpoint. They have advantages in physical ability and skill, but if we can change things up we could present Sonoma with some real problems."
Nothing much seemed to work for the 'Cats Saturday at the Wolves' Den in Rohnert Park. As a team, Chico State posted a miniscule .026 hitting percentage and recorded just 21 kills on the night. Olivia Mediano led the way for the Wildcats with eight kills, while Torey Thompson contributed 18 assists and 11 digs. Shannon Cotton delivered 18 digs and a pair of service aces.
The first set saw Sonoma State jump out to a 9-3 lead, but Chico State cut the deficit to two with four unanswered points; two on kills by Anna Baytosh. The 'Cats were still down just 12-10 before the Seawolves went on a 10-2 blitz to balloon their advantage to 10. A kill by Kaitlyn Jochum was all the offense the Wildcats could muster down the stretch as Sonoma rolled to the 25-14 victory.
The second set was tight early on, with Sonoma holding a slim 9-7 lead. The Seawolves then proceeded to score nine of the next 13 points to go up 18-11. The Wildcats were able to shave the deficit to 19-15, only to see Sonoma rip off a 6-1 run to post the 25-16 victory.
The Seawolves spotted Chico State the first point of the third set and then went to work, going on a 19-6 run to take total control of the contest. The Wildcats made one last charge – two aces by Cotton and kills by Mediano and Hannah Wilkins highlighted a 7-0 Chico State run to pull the 'Cats to within 19-13 – but Sonoma righted the ship in plenty of time to take the set 25-15 and sweep the match.
Afterwards, Hein said there was no reason for his team to linger on Saturday's loss. "We didn't play how we wanted to tonight, but we can still pat ourselves on the back. We (advanced) to the postseason, and that's pretty cool," he said. "The girls have to tap back into how well they were playing earlier in the season to keep things going. That's what I'm look for from this team."
