The evening began with overflowing emotions and ended with a hard-fought hash mark in the "W" column. After saluting outgoing seniors Olivia Mediano, Anna Baytosh, McKenna Carroll and Tristen Thompson in their final home match of the season, the Chico State volleyball team got down to business and defeated Humboldt State 23-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-20 Friday night at Acker Gym.
Seniors McKenna Carroll (left) had 23 assists vs.
Humboldt State, while Olivia Mediano (right) logged
12 kills, 13 digs and two service aces.
Chico State won its second straight match and seventh in the last eight to improve to 15-11 on the season. The Wildcats also held on to second place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) North Division with a 9-7 conference record. Humboldt State lost its sixth consecutive decision to dip to 3-16 overall and 2-10 in the CCAA North.
Bekah Boyle posted high kill honors for the 'Cats Friday, flooring 13 winners on the night. Mediano added a dozen kills, 13 digs and a pair of service aces to the 'Cats' attack, with Kelley Jacome contributing eight kills. Makaela Keeve was a huge force at the net, collecting seven kills and nine blocks. Carroll and Nicole Desrochers combined for 44 assists, while Thompson racked up 21 digs.
Anna Baytosh racked up five kills
and four blocks Friday.
Early in the evening, it looked like Humboldt State was going to spoil the Senior Night festivities. In the opening set the Lumberjacks fell behind the Wildcats 12-6—Desrochers landed a pair of aces, and Jacome and Keeve registered multiple kills to give Chico State the lead—but Humboldt State slowly crept back into the contest and eventually evened the score at 22-all. The 'Cats briefly retook the lead on a Kim Wright kill, only to see Humboldt score three unanswered points to steal the 25-23 victory.
The Wildcats rebounded in the second set, as a Wright ace, a Keeve/Jacome combo block and kills by Mediano, Boyle and Jacome staked Chico State to a 14-8 lead. The Lumberjacks were able to whittle the deficit to four, but the 'Cats were having no part of another Humboldt comeback, as Mediano and Keeve each delivered a pair of kills down the stretch to cement the match-tying 25-17 win.
The Lumberjacks pulled out to an 11-8 lead in the third set before the Chico State offense finally got clicking. Keeve highlighted a 13-3 run with two kills, a solo block and three combo blocks to put the Wildcats in front 21-14, then Mediano and Anna Baytosh added late kills to go along with two Lumberjacks miscues to seal Chico State's 25-17 victory.
Tristen Thompson led the Wildcats with 21 digs
against the Lumberjacks.
It looked like the 'Cats would make short work of the 'Jacks in the fourth set—a solo block by Boyle, a Keeve ace and kills by Mediano, Baytosh and Boyle gave Chico State a quick 11-5 lead. The Wildcats were still up six when Humboldt reeled off four unanswered points to pull to within 16-14, and the Lumberjacks were still hanging around at 21-19 when Chico State put an official end to the proceedings. Two straight Humboldt errors, a kill by Wright and a Wright/Jacome combo block provided the 'Cats with all the points they needed to win the set 25-20 and lock down the match victory.
Chico State wraps up the regular season on the road next weekend. Friday the Wildcats will take on Cal State Monterey Bay, then travel to Hayward Saturday to battle Cal State East Bay in a match that most likely will determine the North Division's second seed in the upcoming CCAA Championship Tournament. Both matches are scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m.
