ATHERTON, Calif. – The Chico State volleyball team was able to avoid a sweep but was unable to force a deciding set as Cal State East Bay bested the Wildcats in four (19-25, 18-25, 26-24, 20-25) in the CCAA opener Friday night.
The matchup, originally scheduled to be played in Hayward, was relocated to Menlo College on the other side of the bay as Pioneer Gym was being fitted with a new scoreboard.
Chico State dips the overall record to 3-5 while East Bay, winners of four straight, improve to 6-3.
Kassandra Nall continues to keep pace in the CCAA on the attack, recording 18 kills on the evening while hitting .229. With an average of 3.59 kills per set and 29.3 percent on the season, Nall remains seventh and eighth in the CCAA, respectively.
Maria Wahl and Gwyneth Wentzel each had nine kills to finish behind Nall.
Claire Nordeen got her first double-double in her collegiate career after the freshman tallied personal bests of 33 assists and a dozen digs.
Cal State East Bay was led by four individuals who recorded double digits in the kill column. Lexi Pagani had 14 kills, Mia Jordan and Coco Ikpe each had 11 and Fane Paua had 10. Kale'a Kuamo'o, the conference's leader in digs with a season average of 4.61 per set, made 22 stops against the Wildcats.
Both teams collected a pair of points from the start. East Bay got into a scoring rhythm by winning five straight points to take control of the set. Chico State went on a five-point run of its own to cut the deficit to 16-14. After a tradeoff in points, the Pioneers setup their path to the set win thanks to a 6-1 run.
The second set was tied at 10 when East Bay collected seven straight points and Chico State was unable to recover.
Down 14-16 in the third game, the Wildcats found a momentum that benefited them, winning six straight points, three of which were kills from Wahl, to take a four-point lead. East Bay got back on that wave thanks to a five-point rally of its own to move ahead 23-22. Chico State eventually won four of the final five serves to salvage the set win.
Chico State had to recover from a 9-5 gap in the fourth set, but a four-point run by East Bay proved to be the deciding factor in both the game and the match.
The Wildcats wrap up the season-opening nine-match, four-city tour in Seaside Saturday, taking on Cal State Monterey Bay at 5 p.m. The Otters dropped a four-set decision to Stanislaus State tonight.
