SAN RAFAEL—There was plenty of spirited play and lots to get excited about as the Chico State volleyball team wrapped up a challenging two-match slate Friday during first day action at the NorCal Kickoff. At the end of the day, though, the Wildcats fell a little short in their quest of adding a pair of hashmarks to the "W" column. The 'Cats began the day in fine form with a 25-19, 25-14, 25-20 sweep of host Dominican University, but in the late match fell in four sets to Holy Names 15-25, 25-19, 22-25, 20-25 at the Conlan Center in San Rafael.
The first day tournament split moves Chico State's record to 2-3 on the season.
Grace Shepherd delivered a combined 23 kills for the 'Cats Friday, with Zoe DiNardo landing a personal Wildcat single-match high of 15 kills against Holy Names to total 18 winners on the day. Lauryn Osendorf added 14 kills to the 'Cats' attack, with Bree Rodriguez contributing 10 kills and six blocks.
Brooke Ono dished out 71 assists while chipping in with 21 digs, two service aces, and a trio of blocks. Lexi Carpenter racked up 32 digs over the two matches.
In the day's first match against Dominican, Chico State rode multiple kills by DiNardo and Rodriguez to an early 10-3 lead in the opening set. Dominican pulled to with 15-10, but four straight Penguins miscues and a Jane Mcnulty kill gave the Wildcats a seemingly comfortable 20-10 advantage. Dominican, though, reeled off eight straight points to make it a contest, but the 'Cats collected themselves to score five of the next six points—Jessie Camarillo flooring a pair of aces and Rodriguez providing the set-ending kill—to give Chico State the 25-19 victory.
The Wildcats never trailed in the second set, racing out to a 14-4 lead on the strength of a Kate Beezer ace, an Ono/Osendorf combo block, and kills by Rodriguez, Mcnulty, DiNardo, and Ono. The Penguins whittled the deficit to seven at 14-7, only to see the 'Cats go on a 6-0 run—Ono delivering a pair of aces during the stretch—to take their largest lead of the set at 20-7. Dominican refused to go away, but could get no closer than nine points the rest of the way—Mcnulty and Rodriguez hammered home late kills to send Chico State to a 25-14 win.
The 'Cats were able to secure the match sweep, but they had to work for it in the third set. Rodriguez and Taylor Whyte set the tone with back-to-back combo blocks, and kills by Ono, Osendorf, Shepherd, and Nariah Prescott gave Chico State a quick 7-4 lead. Dominican came back to knot up the score at 10-all, but four straight Wildcat points—three coming on kills by Shepherd and Osendorf—put Chico State back on top. The Wildcats would not relinquish the lead, though the Penguins closed to within 21-20. The 'Cats answered with two kills by Shepherd, another from Osendorf, and a Dominican error to win going away 25-20.
In Chico State's afternoon match against Holy Names, the Wildcats used multiple kills by DiNardo and Shepherd to fashion a 6-5 lead in the first set. The Hawks responded with six unanswered points to go up 11-6, and following two more kills by DiNardo to make it a 12-8 contest, Holy Names took command of the contest with an 8-1 run to extend its advantage to 20-9. Three Shepherd kills and one by DiNardo down the stretch wasn't enough for the 'Cats to mount any sort of late comeback, and the Hawks cruised to the 25-15 victory.
The 'Cats shrugged off the opening set loss by roaring out to an 8-1 lead in set number two. Ono and Rodriguez combined on a pair of blocks, and Shepherd and Rodriguez contributed kills to help Chico State grab a big early advantage. A 6-1 run by Holy Names made the score 9-7, but the Wildcats scored nine of the next of the next 14 points—getting an ace from Rodriguez and kills from DiNardo, Osendorf, and Nariah Prescott—to push their lead to 18-12. Back-to-back kills by Shepherd lengthened the 'Cats advantage, and every time the Hawks tried to put a scoring streak together, Chico State had an answer. Three late kills by DiNardo kept Holy Names at bay, and the Wildcats recorded a 25-19 victory to even up the match at one set apiece.
The third set featured lengthy scoring runs for both teams. Chico State was up 7-6 before Holy Names scored five answered points to take an 11-7 lead. The Wildcats proceeded to put together an 11-3 run—highlighted by a Rodriguez/DiNardo combo block and kills by Osendorf, Ono, Rodriguez, and Shepherd—to jump out in front 18-14. The Hawks then put together a run that ultimately decided the contest, outscoring the 'Cats 8-2 to grab a 22-20 lead. Thanks to late kills by Osendorf and Shepherd, Chico State was twice able to pull to within a point, but Holy Names tallied three of the final four scores to prevail 25-22.
The Wildcats and Hawks split the first 10 points of the fourth set before Chico State leaned on kills by DiNardo and Nariah Prescott to fashion a 6-0 run and build an 11-5 lead. The 'Cats were still up 13-9 when Holy Names reeled off five of the next six points to tie the score at 14-all. The Wildcats jumped back in front and led 20-18, but the Chico State offense was shut out the rest of the way, as the Hawks ripped off seven straight points to post the 25-20 win and the match victory.
Chico State concludes the NorCal Kickoff Saturday with another pair of matches in San Rafael. At 1 p.m., the Wildcats take on the Urban Knights of Academy of Art, followed by a 6 p.m. contest versus the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds. Fans can follow the action online with live streaming video (a viewing fee of $10 is required for each match). Live Stats will also be available online, with links on the Wildcat Athletics website and the volleyball home page.
