TURLOCK, Calif.—The road to success is filled with highs and lows. That's a credo the Chico State volleyball team has to believe in, as a difficult 2017 season hit perhaps its lowest ebb Saturday night in Turlock. The Wildcats, looking to get back to the .500 mark and using a victory against winless Stanislaus State to jump-start a positive midseason run, instead dropped a four-set decision to the Warriors 20-25, 25-20, 22-25, 24-26 at Fitzpatrick Arena in Turlock.
 
Saturday's loss—Chico State's second straight and eighth in its last 11 matches—dropped the Wildcats to 8-10 on the year and 2-6 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) North Division. Stanislaus State improved to 1-15 overall and 1-7 in CCAA play.
 
Olivia Mediano, Bekah Boyle and Kelley Jacome each had 12 kills to lead the Wildcats, while Makaela Keeve contributed seven kills and six blocks. McKenna Carroll and Nicole Desrochers combined for 44 assists on the night, with Tristen Thompson posting a match-high 24 digs.
 
The Wildcats and Warriors split the first 10 points of the opening set before Stanislaus went on a 10-6 run to go up 15-11. Chico State scored the next four points—two on kills by Keeve and Jacome—to tie the score, but the Warriors responded by ripping off a 6-0 run to pull back ahead 21-15. The 'Cats could not recover, and despite a late kill by Boyle and a Kim Wright/Anna Baytosh combo block, Stanislaus hung on to register the 25-20 victory.
 
Olivia Mediano delivered a pair of kills and a service ace to lead Chico State to an early 7-3 advantage in the second set, and though Stanislaus twice closed to within two points, the Wildcats never relinquished the lead. With the score 16-13, three Boyle kills and a Brooke Fogel ace kept the Warriors at arm's length, and Jacome delivered the decisive kill to give Chico State the 25-20 win.
 
The third set was a tightly-played contest, featuring 11 tie scores. With things knotted up at 16-all, a Stanislaus error, a Jacome kill and an ace by Desrochers gave Chico State a 19-16 lead. The Warriors battled back in a big way, using an 8-2 run to go up 24-21. The Wildcats survived one set point courtesy of a Boyle kill, but Stanislaus got the point it needed to outlast the 'Cats 25-22.
 
Chico State, now needing a win to stay alive, came out aggressively in the fourth set, as kills by Mediano, Jacome, Keeve and Thompson staked the Wildcats to a 9-8 lead. Stanislaus did not buckle—instead, they answered with a huge 13-3 run to go up 21-12 and push the 'Cats to the brink.
 
Down but not out, Chico State responded by scoring 12 of the next 15 points—Jacome and Boyle each delivering three kills during the run—to tie up the contest at 24-all. But it would turn out to be the 'Cats' last hurrah, as a service error and kill by Sierra Adams gave the Warriors the points they needed to secure the 26-24 win, taking the set and recording their first match victory of the season.
 
The Wildcats begin a four-match homestand Tuesday night when the San Francisco State Gators visit Acker Gym. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.