HAYWARD—The Chico State volleyball team got its Bay Area road trip off to a positive start Friday, outlasting a tenacious Cal State East Bay squad to post a 28-26, 25-23, 25-15 victory at Pioneer Gymnasium in Hayward. It was Chico State's third consecutive match sweep, and keeps the 'Cats in sole possession of first place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) North Division standings.
Friday's win—Chico State's sixth in the last seven outings—moves the Wildcats to 7-4 on the season and 3-0 in the CCAA. Cal State East Bay dropped its fifth in a row to slip to 1-10 overall and 0-3 in conference play.
Kim Wright led the Wildcats' offense with 18 kills—nine coming in the opening set. Makaela Keeve added eight kills, with Brooke Ono and Bekah Boyle flooring five winners apiece. Ono also racked up 33 assists for the 'Cats, which posted a combined .278 hitting percentage on the night.
A service ace by Esti Wilson and kills by Wright, Boyle, and Grace Shepherd powered Chico State to an early 6-2 lead in the first set, but Cal State East Bay answered with five straight points to jump on top 7-6. The Wildcats regained the lead 11-9 of a pair of Keeve kills and an ace by Brooke Fogel, only to see the Pioneers once again knot up the contest. The 'Cats used kills by Wright, Ono, and Evelyn Clonts to go back in front 15-12, but the lead didn't last long. Eight tie scores later, the set was deadlocked at 22-all.
A pair of Wright kills put the Wildcats up 24-22, but East Bay survived two set points and scored again to go up 25-24. Wright's kill helped Chico State survive set point, and after the Pioneers retook the lead 26-25, the 'Cats reeled off three consecutive scores—a Keeve kill and two East Bay errors—to finally prevail 28-26.
Fueled by kills from Wright, Ono, Boyle, and Keeve, aces by Wilson and Shepherd, a solo block by Clonts, and Shepherd/Wright and Wright/Boyle combo blocks, Chico State roared out to a 13-4 lead in the second set. Cal State East Bay steadily chipped away at the deficit, and used a 15-7 run to close to within 20-19. With the score 21-20, the Wildcats put the set away with kills by Wright and Shepherd to come through with the 25-23 victory.
The two teams split the first 12 points of the third set before Chico State opened up a 16-10 lead on the strength of kills by Keeve, Shepherd, Wright, and Kelley Jacome. East Bay could get no closer than five points the rest of the way—aces by Fogel and Lauren Voelker, and kills by Keeve, Boyle, Jacome, Shepherd, and Wright spearheaded an 8-3 run down the stretch to give the 'Cats the 25-15 victory and the match sweep.
Chico State stays in the Bay Area Saturday to take on San Francisco State (9-3, 2-1 CCAA). First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at The Swamp; fans can follow the action online via Live Stats and live streaming video, available through the Wildcat Athletics website.
