CHICO, Calif. – The Chico State volleyball team appeared to have a rhythm going in the second half of the CCAA match against San Francisco State, but the Gators scored 12 of 13 points in the end of the fourth game to beat the Wildcats (19-25, 13-25, 25-23, 22-25) in Acker Gym on Saturday.
The Wildcats fall to 6-7 overall and 3-3 in the CCAA while the Gators, who are keeping place with Cal Poly Pomona in first place in the standings, improve to 6-0 in the CCAA while going 12-3 overall.
It was a tough day on offense for the Wildcats, who hit .068 on the evening. Kassandra Nall continues to lead the effort with 11 kills, followed by Cashe Olswang with nine and Gwyneth Wentzel with eight. Jessie Camarillo had a career day wearing the libero jersey as the junior made a personal-best 27 digs, easily beating her previous mark of 23 set last season. Claire Nordeen dished out 29 assists to lead the Wildcats in that department.
Izzy Issak, who ranks third in the CCAA in kills per set, finished with 18 against the Wildcats. The Gators left Acker Gym hitting .200 while matching 24 errors with the Wildcats. Kimberly DeBoer had an impressive day in the assists column, recording 51.
After going down quietly in the first two sets, the Wildcats found some life in game three, using a 5-1 early in the game to take an 11-6 lead. The Wildcats had to defend a two-point lead for most of the third game until a three-point run distanced Chico State, giving it a 21-16 lead. SF State had a late rally attempt while in set point but Nall got the kill needed to seal a set win for Chico State.
The fourth game saw two momentums in the beginning and the end. Starting with the beginning, Chico State went on an 8-2 run to take a 14-7 lead. After SF State got to within three, Chico State went on to win 6-of-7 serves to reestablish a seven-point lead. The Gators got the biggest rally in the match, 12-1 run, including eight straight to sneak by the Wildcats and take the match.
The Wildcats head to Los Angeles for the weekend starting with Cal State Dominguez Hills Friday at 5 p.m. The Toros are coming home after taking a four-set loss to Cal State Monterey Bay in Seaside tonight, falling to 5-9 overall and 2-4 in the CCAA.
