TURLOCK – Still feeling the sting of Friday's back-to-back losses in the D2 West Region Showcase, a determined Chico State volleyball team took on a talented Hawaii Pacific squad Saturday in the tournament's final day, and in match that took nearly two-and-a-half-hours to complete, the Wildcats overcame a two-sets-to-one deficit to edge the Sharks 27-25, 23-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-10 at Fitzpatrick Arena on the Stanislaus State campus.
With the victory, Chico State split its four D2 West Region Showcase matches and improved to 5-3 on the season.
Several Wildcats racked up some big numbers Saturday. Camryn Rocha collected a career-high 19 kills to go along with three blocks, and Olivia Mediano scored a double-double with 19 kills and 15 digs. Kim Wright posted a dozen kills, nine digs, four blocks and two services aces, while Torey Thompson dished out a career-best 62 assists in addition to adding three aces. Shannon Cotton led all players with 27 digs on the night.
The first set was close the entire way. Mediano's three kills, two by Rocha and a pair of Rocha/Alex Boyle combo blocks helped Chico State jump out in front 11-8, but Hawaii Pacific notched three straight winners to tie up the contest. The lead went back and forth, but with the score knotted up at 21-all the Sharks scored three of the next four points to go up 24-22. The 'Cats survived two sets points and went up 25-24, only to see Hawaii Pacific tie it up again. Chico State was not to be denied, however, as back-to-back kills by Rocha and Mediano were the deciding blows in the Wildcats' 27-25 victory.
The two teams split the first 12 points of the second set before Hawaii Pacific went on a 7-2 run to go up 13-8. The 'Cats battled back – two Mediano kills, one each from Rocha and Torey Thompson and seven Sharks miscues powered a 12-3 run to put Chico State on top 20-16. Hawaii Pacific tallied four unanswered points to tie things up at 20-all, then after a Rocha kill briefly put the Wildcats back in front, the Sharks went on a 4-1 run to take a 24-22 lead. A Mediano kill helped the 'Cats stave off one set point, but Hawaii Pacific promptly answered with the set winner to claim the 25-23 victory.
The third set was another nip-and-tuck affair in the early going, but a 4-0 Hawaii Pacific run snapped a 10-all tie and gave the Sharks their largest lead of the contest. The Wildcats came storming backs – aces by Mediano and Torey Thompson plus kills by Rocha, Wright and Alex Boyle fueled an 8-2 run to put Chico State in front 18-16. Hawaii Pacific came back to tie the contest 20-20, then scored five of the next eight points to post the come-from-behind 25-23 win.
The Sharks jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the fourth set, but the Wildcats responded with seven straight points – Wright and Mediano provided kills, while Tristen Thompson posted a service ace – to go up 10-7. Chico State used kills by Mediano, Rocha, Wright, Torey Thompson, and Anna Baytosh, two aces by Wright and a Baytosh/Alex Boyle combo block to extend it advantage to 23-15, then kills by Rocha and Wright sealed the deal as the Wildcats won 25-20 to force a fifth set.
Hawaii Pacific took an early 6-4 in the decider, but a kill by Wright, a Mediano ace and a Wright/Torey Thompson combo block put Chico State up 7-6. The Sharks came back three times to knot up the contest, but with the score tied 9-9 kills by Mediano, Rocha and Alex Boyle fueled a 5-0 run to put the 'Cats in command. Mediano officially applied the back-breaker with a kill that gave the Wildcats the 15-10 set win and the match victory.
Chico State will take Sunday off before resuming play Monday night in the Wildcats' first home match of the season. The 'Cats welcome the Warriors of William Jessup at 7 p.m. in Acker Gym.
