Everything was going right for the Chico State volleyball team at the beginning of its Friday night home match against Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Wildcats, looking to rebound from an unproductive Southern California road trip, were assertive and assured as they jumped out to a big two-set lead. But the visiting Toros were able to swing the momentum in the match's late stages, winning sets three and four and surviving four match points in the critical fifth set to hand the 'Cats a 25-13, 25-20, 16-25, 21-25, 17-19 defeat at Acker Gym.
Thanks to Friday night losses by both San Francisco State and Stanislaus State, the Wildcats had a chance to move into sole possession of first place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) North Division. Instead, Chico State suffered its third straight loss to drop to 10-9 on the season and remain tied with Stanislaus for second place in the CCAA North with a 6-5 conference record.
Five different Chico State players recorded double-digit kills Friday, led by Kim Wright with 16. Wright also delivered three service aces, moving into the No. 1 spot in program history with 140 career aces. Bekah Boyle racked up 13 kills on the night; Makaela Keeve added a dozen winners, and Grace Shepherd and Kelley Jacome each tallied 11 kills for the 'Cats. Brooke Ono supplied the sets, piling up 58 assists to go along with a team-high 16 digs.
In the opening set, the two teams were knotted up at 8-apiece when Chico State used a 9-1 run to take control of the contest—Keeve floored three service aces during the stretch, with Boyle and Wright delivering kills—to make the score 17-9. Dominguez Hills would get no closer than seven the rest of the way, and the 'Cats closed out the proceedings by scoring seven of the final nine points—Wright and Ali Collins came through with aces, and Shepherd provided a pair of late kills—to give Chico State the 25-13 victory.
The Wildcats never trailed in the second set, jumping out to an 11-4 lead on the strength of another Collins ace and kills by Ono, Boyle, Shepherd, Keeve, and Jacome. Dominguez Hills hung around, and four times cut the deficit to four. But with the score 18-14, the 'Cats took advantage of five Toros errors to fuel a late 6-2 run to go up 24-16. Dominguez Hills continued to battle, surviving four set points, but Bekah Boyle put the contest away with a thundering kill to give the Wildcats the 25-20 win.
Chico State was smelling sweep, but it was the Toros who suddenly were the aggressors in the third set, racing out to a 12-5 lead. The Wildcats closed to within 15-11 thanks to kills by Keeve, Boyle, and Shepherd, but Dominguez Hills kept the 'Cats at arm's length, slowly building its advantage to nine at 21-12 and ended up winning going away by a final of 25-16.
The Toros and Wildcats played it tight in the fourth set. Dominguez Hills led through most of the early going, but never by more than two points. Kills by Wright, Keeve and Jacome highlighted a modest 4-1 run to put Chico State in front 14-13, but it would be the 'Cats' lone lead of the contest. The Toros scored 11 of the next 16 points to go up 24-19, and despite a late ace and kill by Wright, Dominguez Hills had no trouble scoring the one point necessary to post the 25-21 win and force a fifth set.
The decider was a nail-biter, with 12 tie scores and five lead changes. Down 7-5 early in the set, Chico State used kills by Keeve, Jacome, Boyle, and Ono to take a 12-9 lead. The Wildcats were still up 14-12 and appeared poised to notch their fourth home "W" of the season. Instead, Dominguez Hills scored the next three points and suddenly had the 'Cats on the ropes at 15-14. Back-to-back kills by Wright and Ono once again gave Chico State the advantage and the chance for the victory, but a Wildcat service error kept the Toros alive.
A Jacome kill put the 'Cats up 17-16, but it would turn out to be Chico State's last hurrah. Dominguez Hills once again survived match point and followed up with an ace and kill, netting the final three points to pull out the 19-17 victory and win the match.
The Wildcats are back in action Saturday, hosting No. 24 Cal State LA (13-5, 9-1 CCAA) at Acker Gym. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
