HAYWARD—The Chico State volleyball team enjoyed a happy bus ride home from the Bay Area Saturday—and judging by the way they it played during the season-opening weekend, it'll be the first of many this fall. The Wildcats concluded the NorCal Kickoff by winning three out of four matches to begin the 2021 campaign, making Fresno Pacific its latest victim Saturday afternoon at Cal State East Bay's Pioneer Gymnasium. The 'Cats vanquished the Sunbirds in four sets 25-19, 25-22, 15-25, 25-20 to improve to 3-1 on the year.
A evenly-distributed offense fueled Chico State's Saturday victory. Makaela Keeve led the way with 12 kills while adding nine digs, four blocks, and a service ace. Lizzie Wilson and Zoe DiNardo also registered double-digit kills on the afternoon—Wilson hammered home 11 winners, with DiNardo posting 10 kills and 15 digs.
Kelley Jacome and Grace Shepherd had seven and six kills, respectively, for the 'Cats, while Evelyn Clonts contributed four key kills coming off the bench. Brooke Ono handed out 41 assists over the four sets and also chipped in with three kills and 10 digs. Kennedy Greenwood supplied six assists and a match-high 16 digs, and Ali Collins added another dozen digs for the victorious Wildcats.
Chico State started strong in the opening set, notching the first four points on a pair of Fresno Pacific errors and kills by Keeve and Ono. The Sunbirds stormed back to take lead, and were still ahead 12-11 when the Wildcats flipped the script and went ahead 21-16—Keeve delivered a kill, solo block, and service ace; Wilson floored a pair of attacks, Shepherd contributed a kill, and DiNardo scored an ace to highlight the 'Cats' 10-4 run. Fresno Pacific crept back to within three at 22-19, but two straight Sunbirds miscues and a set-ending solo block by Keeve gave Chico State the 25-19 victory.
Kills by Keeve, Wilson, and Clonts helped stake the Wildcats to an early 6-5 lead in the second set, but Fresno Pacific answered by scoring the next five points to surge ahead 10-6. Chico State went back in front by responding with a big 11-3 run—highlighted by kills from Keeve, Wilson, DiNardo, Jacome, and Shepherd—to grab a 17-13 advantage. The 'Cats would not trail for the remainder of the set, and though the Sunbirds pulled to within one at 23-22, a Shepherd kill and an ace by Greenwood provided the deciding points in Chico State's 25-22 victory.
The third set was all Fresno Pacific. The Sunbirds snapped a 4-all tie to go up 14-8, and after the Wildcats showed a bit of life with kills by Ono and Keeve to make it 15-11, Fresno Pacific blew the contest open with a 10-4 run to win 25-15, denying Chico State a match sweep and forcing a fourth set.
The decider was a see-saw battle early on, with neither team leading by more than two points. With the score tied at 12-apiece, the Wildcats methodically built a lead that, thanks to an 11-5 run, gradually grew to six on the strength of kills from Keeve, DiNardo, Wilson, and Jacome. With the 'Cats up 23-17, Fresno Pacific made one last charge, cutting the deficit to three before back-to-back kills by Keeve and Shepherd ended the battle, with Chico State prevailing 25-20 to win the match.
The Wildcats head back to Bay Area next Friday and Saturday to take part in the Seawolf/Gator Classic, co-hosted by Sonoma State and San Francisco State. The 'Cats will play four non-conference matches against California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) opponents—Friday, Chico State will be in Rohnert Park to take on Humboldt State at 10 a.m., followed by a 7:30 p.m. contest against Sonoma State. The Wildcats move over to San Francisco State Saturday to face the host Gators at 12:30 p.m. and Cal State Monterey Bay at 5 p.m.
