SAN FRANCISCO—Senior Olivia Mediano made up her mind well before Thursday's CCAA Championship Tournament quarterfinal match against Cal State San Marcos she had more volleyball left in her college career. Thanks to a 23-kill performance—just one shy of her all-time best—Mediano and her Chico State teammates made sure there would be at least one more contest in the Wildcats' 2017 season, as they advanced to the tournament semifinals with a 26-24, 20-25, 25-21, 25-18 victory over Cal State San Marcos at The Swamp in San Francisco.

Chico State improved to 16-13 on the year with Thursday's win, but more importantly, the Wildcats kept the season—and their NCAA Tournament hopes—alive. Cal State San Marcos saw its season come to an end with an overall 14-12 record.

In addition to her 23 kills, Mediano delivered 11 digs and three blocks on the afternoon. Bekah Boyle racked up 15 kills, with Makaela Keeve adding 11 kills and three blocks. McKenna Carroll and Nicole Desrochers combined for 48 assists, and Tristen Thompson led the 'Cats with 23 digs. Brooke Fogel also came up huge, ripping off four service aces—two coming in the all-important fourth set.

Mediano got Chico State rolling in the opening set, hammering home four kills to stake the Wildcat to a 6-4 lead. Cal State San Marcos responded with four answered points to go out in front 8-6, but the 'Cats used two Cougars errors and a kill by Keeve to pull even at 9-all. Chico State was up 14-13 when San Marcos went on a quick 4-0 run to move in front 17-14, only to see the Wildcats pull even on the strength of kills by Keeve and Boyle.

The score was knotted up at 18-apiece when the Cougars went on a 5-1 run and threatened to pull away. A Boyle kill, a Kim Wright/Kelley Jacome combo block, a Fogel service ace and a Wright solo block knotted things up at 23-apiece. San Marcos scored the next point, but the 'Cats countered with two Mediano kills and an ace by Wright to score the 26-24 victory.

The Cougars broke out to a 12-5 lead in the second set, but kills by Boyle, Mediano, Jacome and Anna Baytosh pulled the 'Cats to within four at 15-11. San Marcos extended its advantage to 18-11, only to see Chico State battle back—aces by Mediano and Carroll, and kills by Mediano, Keeve and Boyle highlighted an 8-2 run that trimmed the Cougars' lead to 22-20. San Marcos refused to falter, scoring the final three points to take the set 25-20.

Chico State got the upper hand early in the third set, with kills by Mediano, Keeve and Boyle, plus combo blocks by Wright/Mediano and Mediano/Jacome putting the 'Cats on top 8-5. The Wildcats maintained their three point lead before San Marcos tied things up at 11-all. With the score tied at 15-apiece, back-to-back kills by Mediano and Boyle put Chico State ahead, but only briefly, as the Cougars went on a 5-2 run to pull ahead 20-19.

The Wildcats used a San Marcos serving error and a Jacome kill to move back in front 21-20, and this time the Cougars could not recover. A Mediano kill and a Jacome/Carroll combo block provided the 'Cats with the final two points needed to post the 25-21 victory.

The fourth set saw Chico State fire out to an 8-4 lead on the strength of a Desrochers ace, kills by Mediano, Keeve, Boyle and Baytosh and combo blocks by Keeve/Mediano and Keeve/Jacome. San Marcos crept to within 11-9, but the Wildcats answered with a 6-0 run—two Fogel aces, a Wright/Jacome combo block and kills by Boyle and Mediano—to make it a 17-9 contest. The Cougars could get no closer than five points the rest of the way, with a Wright kill and San Marcos error putting the finishing touches on Chico State winning the set 25-18 and match.

Chico State will take on Cal State LA (15-11) in Friday's first CCAA Championship Tournament semifinal matchup, with first serve scheduled for 5 p.m. Fans can follow the action online via Live Stats and live streaming video, available through the Wildcat Athletics website.

Prior to the match, Bekah Boyle was honored when she received the CCAA Volleyball Championship Tournament Scholar Award, presented to the athlete with the highest grade point average in the eight-team championship field.