At times Saturday, the Chico State volleyball team showed the flashes of excellence that California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) coaches were anticipating in the conference's annual preseason poll. The Wildcats played hard against No. 9 Cal State San Bernardino, but the Coyotes proved that head coach Cody Hein's 'Cats have some work to do before posing a serious challenge to the CCAA elite. San Bernardino took all three sets at Acker Gym, downing the Wildcats 25-21, 25-21, 21-11.
Chico State dropped its second straight match and third in the last four decisions to dip to 7-3 overall and 0-2 in the CCAA North Division. Cal State San Bernardino won its fifth straight match to improve to 9-1 on the season and 2-0 in the conference's South Division.
Bekah Boyle led the Wildcats' offense with 12 kills on the night. Kennedy Rice collected eight kills while Kim Wright floored seven winners. Nicole Desrochers doled out 25 assists, with Brooke Fogel pacing the 'Cats with eight digs.
Chico State came out on the attack in the first set of the night, as a Kelley Jacome service ace and kills by Rice, Wright, Boyle and Makaela Keeve put the Wildcats in front 11-8. San Bernardino came back with four unanswered points to take the lead, and with the contest knotted up at 12-all, the Coyotes went on an 12-7 run to go up 24-19. The 'Cats were able to survive two set points before Sascha Dominique delivered the kill that gave San Bernardino the 25-21 victory.
The Wildcats scored the first three points of the second set, but the Coyotes quickly reeled off seven straight to jump in front. The Coyotes slowly upped their advantage to six, only to see Chico State answer with an 10-5 run, and thanks to aces by Rice and Desrochers and kills by Rice, Boyle, and Keeve, pulled to within 19-18. San Bernardino never relinquished the lead, and sealed the deal with back-to-back kills by Dominique and Jayann DeHoog to win 25-21.
The Coyotes never trailed in the third set, racing out to a 10-4 lead and never taking their foot off the gas. The Wildcats continued to battle, but despite kills by Rice, Wright, Boyle and Lindsey Bryant, Chico State continued to lose ground. Another 10-4 San Bernardino run put the set out of reach, as the Coyotes cruised to the 25-11 victory and the match sweep.
The Wildcats are back in action Wednesday, hosting CCAA North Division rival Stanislaus State (7-3, 0-2 CCAA). The match is scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m.
