SEASIDE—Over the years, winning at The Kelp Bed has proven to be challenging for the Chico State volleyball team. While the Wildcats have won eight of the last nine matches they've played at the home of Cal State Monterey Bay, it seems that every contest has been a battle—in fact, five of the last seven matches in Seaside have gone the full five sets. The Otters made the 'Cats work hard again Saturday to earn a "W", but this time Chico State was able to prevail in four sets by scores of 25-16, 22-25, 25-20, 25-23.
Saturday's win moves Chico State to 10-6 on the season and keeps the Wildcats in a first place tie with Stanislaus State in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) North Division with a 6-2 conference mark. Cal State Monterey Bay dropped its sixth straight decision to slip to 5-12 overall and 1-9 in CCAA play.
The Wildcats posted a solid .347 attack percentage against the Otters, and spread the offense evenly among its five main hitters. Kim Wright led the way with 16 kills, while adding four blocks and a pair of service aces. Wright also etched her name in the Chico State record books: she now has 990 career kills, moving her past Julie Sprague and into 10th place on the Wildcats' all-time kills list.
Makaela Keeve registered 13 kills and three blocks for the 'Cats; Bekah Boyle and Kelley Jacome contributed 10 kills apiece, and Grace Shepherd floored nine kills. Brooke Ono not only dished out 52 assists, but chipped in with 11 digs, four blocks and two aces. Brooke Fogel led all players with 21 digs on the night.
Chico State set the tone for the evening in the opening set. The Wildcats never trailed in the contest, riding aces by Mikeila Banda and kills by Boyle, Shepherd, Wright, and Jacome to build an early 12-7 lead. Monterey Bay responded with five unanswered points to knot things up at 12-all, only to see the 'Cats mount an 8-3 run—Esti Wilson delivered an ace, and Keeve, Jacome, Wright and Shepherd all posted kills—to put Chico State back on top 20-15. The Wildcats closed out the set by ripping off five straight points—Ono racked up an ace, Keeve came through with a pair of kills, and Jacome and Keeve combined on a block—to help Chico State win going away 25-16.
The second set was a much different story. With the score tied at 14-all, Monterey Bay grabbed the lead for good, slowly fashioning a 21-17 advantage. Chico State pulled to within 22-21, but that would be as close as the 'Cats would get. The Wildcats used a Keeve kill to survive one set point, but the Otters' Hannah Haveman responded with the kill that gave Monterey Bay the 25-22 victory.
Chico State won the pivotal third set, but they had to do it in come-from-behind fashion. Monterey Bay jumped out to an 11-7 lead, but the Wildcats proceeded to go on a 13-3 run—Jacome scoring three kills during the stretch—to move in front 20-14. The 'Cats were able to keep the Otters at arm's length the rest of the way, and a Jacome kill provided the exclamation point to Chico State's 25-20 win.
Monterey Bay refused to roll over, and gave the Wildcats all they could handle in the fourth set. The two teams split the first 26 points before the Otters used a 10-6 run to grab a 23-19 lead. But just when it looked like Monterey Bay was going to force a fifth and deciding set, the 'Cats stunned the Otters with a crunch-time 6-0 run—kills by Wright, Shepherd, Keeve, and Ono tied up the contest, then kills by Keeve and Wright put the finishing touches on a miraculous 25-23 win to give Chico State the match victory.
The Wildcats are back in action next weekend, traveling to Southern California to take on UC San Diego Friday and Cal State San Marcos on Saturday. Both matches get underway at 7 p.m.
