SEASIDE, Calif. — The Chico State volleyball team lost to Cal State Monterey Bay 3-1 in CCAA play on Friday, with set scores of 23-25, 20-25, 25-17, 21-25 at the Kelp Bed.
The Wildcats (4-10, 1-7 CCAA) hit .400 with 15 kills in the third set but finished at .186 for the match compared with the Otters (4-13, 4-5 CCAA) at .250.
Kassandra Nall led Chico State with 12 kills and added a solo block. Claire Nordeen finished with 28 assists, 14 digs, seven kills and two service aces. Sophia Heller recorded a team-high 18 digs and added six assists. Maria Wahl reached the 100-digs milestone, totaling 102 for the season after contributing five in the match. Alexis Holman recorded six kills for the first time this season. Whitney Fairfield posted 13.5 points with nine kills, two aces and four total blocks. Fairfield's 13.5 points were a season high. She reached the 100-points milestone, totaling 111 points with 13 contributed in the match.
The Wildcats scored the first three points of the opening set, including a Nall kill, before the Otters moved in front and built a 12-5 lead behind kills from Malia Peterson, Lilly Bandle and Maya Giannini. Chico State cut into the deficit with a Fairfield kill and later pulled within 16-12 on a Nall kill, a Wyievee Binda kill and an Otters attack error, but the hosts pushed the margin back out and reached set point at 24-18. After Fairfield's kill made it 24-19, Nordeen served the Wildcats within 24-23 with two aces and two Nall kills during the run, but a Malia Thorne block ended the set for the Otters, 25-23.
The Otters opened the second set with the first three points, but the Wildcats answered with a Wahl kill, two Binda kills and an Otters attack error to move ahead 4-3. The middle of the set stayed tight, and Chico State went up 15-13 on an Otters attack error and a Fairfield kill. The Otters came back to lead 16-15, then broke a 16-16 tie with three straight points, including a Thorne block and a Sofia MacPherson service ace. Chico State got back within 20-18 on kills by Fairfield and Nordeen, but the Otters scored the next four points and later closed the set 25-20 on a Peterson kill.
After the Otters tied the third set at 1-1, Chico State scored seven straight points, beginning with a Wahl kill and continuing through blocks involving Holman and Fairfield, a Fairfield kill and another Wahl kill as Heller served the final six points of the run for an 8-1 lead. The Otters stopped the run with kills by Thorne and Bandle and later used a Peterson kill, a Giannini kill and a Peterson ace to get within 13-7, but the Wildcats answered with Nall kills around a brief exchange and pushed the score to 18-10 on Holman kill. The Otters put together another three-point stretch to reach 18-13, but Binda, Nordeen, Fairfield, Jillian Davis and Nall all contributed late kills before Fairfield's service ace closed the Wildcats' 25-17 set win.
The Otters put Chico State in an early 8-1 hole behind kills from Thorne, Peterson, Abby Witzansky and Bandle, along with two blocks during Gia Hoffman's serve. The Wildcats cut the deficit with kills from Finley Corona, Nordeen, Binda and Nall, getting as close as 13-9 before the Otters pushed the margin to 18-13. Chico State answered with four straight points, including Holman kill, a Sinam Minasian ace and a Nordeen kill, to pull within 18-17. The Otters countered with three straight points to go up 21-17, and after the Wildcats got to 23-21 on a Fairfield ace and a Witzansky attack error, Thorne's kill brought set point before the Otters closed the set 25-21.
Up next, the Wildcats visit Menlo Saturday at 7 p.m. at Haynes-Prim Pavilion in Atherton.
