SAN FRANCISCO—A spirited Chico State volleyball team gave one of the top teams in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) all it could handle Saturday, and though the Wildcats dropped the first two sets to host San Francisco State, still came within a whisker of toppling the Gators with a huge comeback. It was not to be, and as a result Chico State's three-match winning streak came to an end as San Francisco State downed the visiting 'Cats in five sets, 23-25, 21-25, 25-21, 26-24, 13-15.
Saturday's setback drops Chico State to 7-5 on the season and into a tie with San Francisco State for first place in the CCAA North Division with a 3-1 conference record. The Gators won for the ninth time in their last 10 outings to improve to 10-3 overall.
Grace Shepherd led the Wildcats with 17 kills Saturday, while Makaela Keeve weighed in with 15 kills, seven blocks and nine digs. Bekah Boyle contributed 13 kills for the 'Cats, with Kim Wright and Kelley Jacome each flooring 11 winners. Brooke Ono doled out 57 assists, while Mikeila Banda collected a team-high 18 digs on the evening.
Chico State led for nearly the entire first set, only to fall victim to a late San Francisco State rally. The Wildcats jumped out to a 12-6 lead on the strength of kills by Shepherd and Boyle, a Banda service ace, and combo blocks by Ono/Wright and Boyle/Keeve. The 'Cats still maintained a six-point advantage when the Gators went on a 5-1 run to creep to within 19-17. Chico State responded with a pair of Keeve kills and a Keeve/Evelyn Clonts combo block to make it a 22-17 contest. San Francisco State reeled off six unanswered points to take its first lead of the set, and though a Keeve kill briefly tied things up at 23-all, the Gators recorded the next two points to complete the late 8-1 run and come away with the 25-23 victory.
Kills by Keeve, Boyle, and Shepherd powered the Wildcats to an early 7-5 lead in the second set. Chico State was still up 12-11 when San Francisco State took the lead for good courtesy of an 8-3 run. Kills by Wright and Shepherd helped the 'Cats pull to within 20-18, but that would be as close as they would get, as the Gators widened their advantage to 23-18 and withstood late kills by Shepherd, Boyle, and Wright to wrap up the 25-21 win.
With their backs to the wall, the Wildcats came out smokin' in the third set, using a Banda ace, Keeve/Jacome and Keeve/Shepherd combo blocks, plus kills by Keeve, Jacome, and Boyle to blow out to an 11-1 lead. San Francisco State closed to within six, but two Shepherd kills and one apiece by Jacome and Keeve opened up a seemingly safe 20-10 advantage. To Chico State's horror, the Gators reeled off 10 unanswered points to tie the contest at 20-all. This time, though, the 'Cats cut off the late rally—kills by Jacome, Wright, and Shepherd, combined with two San Francisco State miscues, was just enough offense to get the final points needed to secure Chico State's 25-21 victory.
The Wildcats led through most of the fourth set, snapping an 8-all tie with an 11-8 run—Keeve, Shepherd, and Jacome all contributing kills during the stretch—to put Chico State in front 19-16. San Francisco State was able to wrestle the lead away from the 'Cats, and had Chico State facing match point at 24-23. The Gators, however, literally gave the set away, committing three straight errors to give the Wildcats a 26-24 victory to force a fifth and deciding set.
Chico State came out strong, with kills by Jacome, Shepherd, Wright, Keeve, Boyle, and Ono staking the 'Cats to an 8-5 lead. Once the two teams switched sides on the court, San Francisco State took control, registering seven of the next nine points to jump on top 12-10. Back-to-back kills by Shepherd and Wright tied the score, but the Gators responded with two of their own. Again facing match point, a Wright kill kept the Wildcats alive, but a Trinity Barr kill provided the dagger and derailed the 'Cats' comeback attempt, as San Francisco State squeaked out the 15-13 victory to claim the match.
The Wildcats return to Chico next week to open a three-match home stand. The 'Cats welcome Cal State East Bay to Acker Gym Tuesday at 7 p.m., followed by weekend tilts against Sonoma State Friday at 7 p.m. and Humboldt State Saturday at 5 p.m.
