CHICO, Calif. – A power outage on the Chico State campus may have prevented the volleyball team from opening Acker Gym for the first time in the 2024-25 school year, but it didn't stop the Wildcats from sweeping Cal Poly Humboldt (25-18, 25-19, 26-24) at nearby Pleasant Valley High School Friday evening.
The Wildcats were set to play their true home opener Friday when a power outage that began mid-Thursday forced the university to cancel classes for the rest of the week. The Wildcats, meanwhile, packed up their equipment and made the 10-minute drive to the other side of Highway 99 to play at the Vikings' gym. They will return to PVHS on Saturday when they take on Sonoma State, which was victorious in a four-set win at Stanislaus State tonight.
Despite all that, middle blocker Gwyneth Wentzel had a career day in the front line with seven total blocks, shattering her personal best. She also had five kills on the evening too.
Brynna Geibel, who joined Wentzel on transferring to Chico State from Cal State San Marcos last season, led the defense with a season-high 14 digs while Jessie Camarillo had 10 to go along with six service aces. Kassandra Nall contributed to 17 kills, Maria Wahl had 11 and Claire Nordeen was credited with 29 assists.
The Lumberjacks (5-6, 1-2 CCAA), who came into town feeling confident after upsetting the defending national champions Cal State LA last Saturday, were led by Awelina Fakalata and Shanaley Iakopo with a combined 22 kills.
The Wildcats (5-5, 2-1 CCAA) out hit the Lumberjacks .288 to .114 with Chico State committing a season-few 11 misses.
Set one was a tight score from the start, with neither side leading by more than three. Although Humboldt won 3-of-4 serves to take a 15-12 lead, Chico went on a 13-3 run to take the opening-set win.
Chico State found a rhythm early in the second set, using an 11-3 momentum to establish a 15-8 lead. Humboldt did find a slight four-point rally in the end but a service error put the Wildcats in set point and Nall got the kill to put the Wildcats ahead in the match 2-0.
The third set was perhaps the one the 'Cats had to scratch and claw for. Midway through, Humboldt won 6-of-8 rallies to move ahead 17-15. It would stay as a two-point gap until the Wildcats won three straight rallies to move ahead by one. Chico State was in match point but Fakalata got a crucial kill to keep the match alive. A pair of Lumberjack errors lifted the Wildcats to the match sweep.
