LA JOLLA—Over the years, just about every California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) volleyball team has found it difficult to win at RIMAC Arena, the home floor of UC San Diego. Chico State, in fact, has bested the Tritons on the road just once since 2006. The Wildcats were hoping to kick off their Southern California road swing with a bang Friday in La Jolla, but home court advantage kicked in early and often as UC San Diego posted a convincing 25-17, 25-16, 26-24 sweep.
Friday's loss dropped Chico State to 10-7 on the season, but the Wildcats remain in a tie with Stanislaus State for first place in the CCAA North Division with a 6-3 conference mark. The Warriors were beaten in four sets Friday by Cal State San Marcos.
UC San Diego improved to 12-6 overall and 6-4 in the CCAA South Division.
The Wildcats' offense took nearly the whole night to get untracked, as the team's .112 attack percentage attests. Kim Wright led the 'Cats with nine kills, while chalking up three blocks and three service aces. Wright ended the evening just one kill shy of 1,000 for her Chico State career, and now needs just two aces to tie Gillian Heydorff for No. 1 on the Wildcats' all-time service ace list.
Bekah Boyle and Makaela Keeve had eight kills apiece, while Brooke Ono doled out 29 assists. Brooke Fogel led Chico State with eight digs on the night.
Things started encouragingly for the 'Cats, posting the first two points of the opening set. UC San Diego responded with a 10-2 run to quickly build a six-point advantage, forcing Chico State to play catch-up the rest of the way. The Wildcats were unable to put together back-to-back points until kills by Boyle and Wright, plus a Tritons error, pulled Chico State to within 20-16. UC San Diego proceeded to close out the set on a 5-1 run to win going away 25-17.
The Tritons led from start to finish in the second set, roaring out to an early 6-0 lead. Chico State fought back, using an Ono service ace and kills by Wright, Boyle, and Grace Shepherd to trim the deficit to 9-8. UC San Diego answered again, this time fashioning an 11-4 run to extend its lead to 20-12. Wright, Keeve, and Kelley Jacome scored late kills for the 'Cats, but they were too little, too late as the Tritons rolled to the 25-16 victory.
UC San Diego seemed determined to make it a short evening, streaking to a 9-1 lead in the third set. Chico State finally got the offense cooking, however, and used two Wright aces, a Wright solo block, and multiple kills by Wright, Boyle, and Keeve to highlight an impressive 19-10 run to jump in front 20-19. Kills by Wright and Keeve plus a Mikeila Banda ace kept the 'Cats in front 24-23, but not only did the Tritons survive set point, they followed up with back-to-back winners to cap a 3-0 run in crunch time, downing Chico State 26-24 to sweep the match.
The Wildcats wrap up their Southern California road trip Saturday, taking on the Cougars of Cal State San Marcos (12-7, 6-4 CCAA) in a special afternoon contest. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m.; fans can follow the action with Live Stats and live streaming video, available through the Wildcat Athletics website.
