HONOLULU—The Chico State volleyball team was understandably thrilled to begin the 2019 season with an exciting road trip to Hawaii. Based on their results at the three-day Hawaii Challenge, the Wildcats are no doubt looking forward to returning to the mainland. After suffering back-to-back five-set losses Friday, the 'Cats were victims of a 17-25, 17-25, 21-25 sweep Saturday at the hands of Chaminade at McCabe Gymnasium in Honolulu.
Saturday's loss to the Silverswords dropped Chico State to 1-3 on the young season.
Kim Wright and Grace Shepherd led the Wildcats' offense with eight kills apiece; Wright also delivered a pair of blocks and a service ace. Brooke Ono dished out 21 assists and posted two blocks on the night, while Brooke Fogel paced the 'Cats with 10 digs.
Chico State jumped out to an early lead in Saturday's opening set, using kills by Wright and Makaela Keeve, plus a Wright/Ono combo block, to go up 5-3. Chaminade responded by reeling off five straight points to move in front, and after the 'Cats closed to 8-7, the Silverswords went on a 7-2 run to extend its advantage to 15-9. Three kills by Shepherd and a pair of Chaminade errors moved the Wildcats to within three at 17-14, but the Silverswords methodically closed out the set by scoring eight of the last 11 points to win going away 25-17.
Chaminade led from wire-to-wire in the second set, but early on Chico State hung close—kills by Keeve, Wright, and Shepherd, combined with five Silverswords miscues, made it a 10-8 contest. A 6-1 Chaminade run increased its lead to 16-9, and though the Wildcats were able to cut the deficit to four at 18-14—Wright and Bekah Boyle each scored a kill, while Ono provided a solo stuff—the Silverswords pulled away at the end to register the 25-17 victory.
The third set was a much more tightly-played affair. The Wildcats grabbed an early 6-5 lead on the strength of kills by Shepherd, Gretta Kirkby and Kelley Jacome. Chaminade scored three straight points to move out in front, but two Kirkby kills and a Silverswords error knotted up the contest at 9-all. Chico State briefly regained the lead at 14-13 as Wright delivered a kill and an ace, only to see Chaminade rip off an 8-2 run to jump back on top 21-16. The Wildcats came back strong, posting four straight points—two on kills by Kirkby and Wright—to pull to within 21-20. The Silverswords refused to falter down the stretch, scoring four of the final five points to take the set 25-21 and complete the match sweep.
Chico State is back in California next week for the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase, taking place at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla. Thursday the Wildcats take on Montana State Billings at 10 a.m. and Saint Martin's at 5:30 p.m., followed by a 12 noon match Friday versus Academy of Art and a Saturday showdown with Concordia-Irvine at 7:30 p.m.
