Two teams that knew each other's tendencies extremely well—they were going head-to-head for the second time in five days—treated the Acker Gym crowd to a memorable night of volleyball Tuesday, as Chico State and Sonoma State slugged their way through five electrifying sets. In the end, the visiting Seawolves kept their undefeated conference record intact, coming back after being down two sets to one to edge the Wildcats 19-25, 25-15, 21-25, 25-19, 15-9.
Tuesday's loss—Chico State's seventh in the last 10 contests—dropped the Wildcats to 8-9 on the year and into a three-way tie for fourth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) North Division with a 2-5 conference mark. Sonoma State won its seventh straight match to improve to 13-3 overall and 7-0 in CCAA play.
Even in defeat, the 'Cats had five players register double-digit kills. Olivia Mediano led the way with 14 winners, giving her 1,058 for her career and moving the senior outside hitter into sixth place on Chico State's all-time kills list. Mediano also collected 11 digs on the night.
Bekah Boyle racked up 13 kills, with Kelley Jacome adding 11, and Kim Wright and Makaela Keeve picking up 10 kills apiece. McKenna Carroll and Nicole Desrochers doled out 33 and 24 assists, respectively, while Tristen Thompson led all players with 24 digs on the evening.
Chico State came out blazing in the opening set, riding four Wright service aces and kills by Wright, Mediano and Anna Baytosh to grab an 8-3 lead. Sonoma State pulled to within 9-7, only to see the Wildcats rip off a 12-4 run—highlighted by Keeve/Boyle and Keeve/Jacome combo blocks plus kills from Keeve, Wright, Mediano and Boyle—to balloon their advantage to 21-11. The Seawolves made a late charge, trimming the deficit to five, but a pair of kills by Jacome sealed the deal, giving the 'Cats a 25-19 victory.
The second set was nip-and-tuck in the early stages as Chico State and Sonoma State split the first 18 points. The Seawolves went ahead 10-9 and would never relinquish the lead, using a 14-5 run to go up 23-14. Back-to-back kills by Kelsey McIntire and Caiti Wiesner put the capper on Sonoma's match-evening 25-15 win.
It was another close contest in the third set, with 12 ties and six lead changes. With the score tied at 16-all, Chico State finally established the upper hand, and fueled by four Boyle kills, the Wildcats built a 24-19 lead. The Seawolves survived two set points, but Boyle fittingly floored the winning kill to give the Wildcats the 25-21 triumph.
Chico State went for the kill in the fourth set, and led 16-15 before the Seawolves rallied with an 8-2 run to surge out in front 23-18. The 'Cats could not answer, and Sonoma secured the 25-19 win to set up a fifth and deciding set.
The Seawolves threatened to run away with the decider, roaring out to a 5-1 lead. The Wildcats fought back to tie the score courtesy of kills by Mediano and Keeve. It turned out to be Chico State's last hurrah, however, as Sonoma tallied eight of the next 11 points to go out in front 13-8. Bekah Boyle's kill provided the last sliver of offense for the 'Cats, but it wasn't enough, as the Seawolves collected the final two points needed to take the set 15-9 and win not only the match but sweep the season series.
Chico State is back on the road to wrap up the week Saturday, as the Wildcats travel to Turlock to take on Stanislaus State (0-15, 0-7 CCAA). First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
