FRESNO, Calif. — The Chico State volleyball team came close to handing CCAA newcomer and fourth-ranked Fresno Pacific Saturday at the Special Events Center. The Wildcats took a 2-1 match lead, but the Sunbirds rallied to win in five (25-21, 19-25, 25-21, 21-25, 11-15).
The match was treated as a non-conference contest, and the teams will meet in a CCAA match next Saturday in Chico, Calif.
The Wildcats forced Fresno Pacific to play a fifth set for the fourth time this season; the last time the Sunbirds played a deciding set was against Cal State San Bernardino on Sept. 18.
Whitney Fairfield led Chico State with season highs of 22 kills and 24.5 points while posting a season-high .583 hitting percentage. She also reached 100 kills for the season and now has 116. Claire Nordeen finished with 44 assists, seven digs and six kills on 12 attacks. Jessica Ortiz collected a team-high 17 digs and added a service ace. Jillian Davis contributed nine points and has 104 for the season, above the 100-point mark. Kassandra Nall has recorded at least 11 kills in four consecutive matches and scored at least 13.0 points in four consecutive matches. Sinam Minasian reached 100 digs for the season, including four in the match. Wyievee Binda posted a team-high six blocks, including two solo blocks, and added three kills. Binda has 10 solo blocks for the season after contributing two in the match. Chico State finished with 55 kills, above its season average of 42.88, and has accumulated at least 54 digs in four consecutive matches.
The Wildcats started the opening set with kills by Binda and Davis and, after a Sunbirds point, used a Makayla Smith attack error and a Nordeen/Fairfield block to go up 4-1. Fairfield and Nordeen added kills during another early stretch, and a Sophia Heller-Binda block made it 9-3 before Madelyn Feramisco helped the Sunbirds get back to 9-5. Chico State extended the lead with Binda's kill, a Sunbirds attack error and a Nall/Fairfield block for a 15-8 advantage, then stayed in front as kills by Fairfield, Nordeen, Binda and Davis helped move the score to 21-14. Nall's kill gave the Wildcats set point at 24-18, and after the Sunbirds scored three straight behind an Addisen Hamilton kill and two Rachel Plantinga aces, Nall finished the set with another kill for a 25-21 win.
The Sunbirds opened the second set by scoring the first three points, and although Nall and Davis put down early kills for Chico State, a Hamilton kill, a block by Itzel Aguayo and Hamilton, and a Feramisco ace moved the Sunbirds ahead 8-3. The Wildcats sided out through kills from Fairfield, Heller and Nall, but the Sunbirds kept answering and stretched the lead to 15-7 on a Feramisco kill and a Chico State attack error. Trailing 20-13, the Wildcats pulled within 20-15 on a Sunbirds service error and Heller's ace, but Feramisco delivered consecutive kills and Aguayo added another to push the margin to 23-15. Chico State got late kills from Davis, Nall and Fairfield plus an Ortiz ace while reaching 19-24, before the Sunbirds finished the set 25-19 on a service error.
Chico State answered the opening point of the third set with a Davis kill and consecutive Sunbirds attack errors, one on a block by Fairfield and Nall, to move ahead 3-1. The Sunbirds cut the set to 6-5, but Fairfield had two kills around a Davis ace as the Wildcats pushed the lead to 9-5 and later stayed in front through a back-and-forth middle stretch that left them ahead 15-14. Fairfield, Nordeen and Heller followed with kills in a four-point Chico State run to make it 19-14, before the Sunbirds got back to 19-17 on an Aguayo kill and two blocks involving Rylee Pitney and Hamilton. The Wildcats kept the margin from getting closer than two late, reached set point at 24-20 on a Sunbirds attack error and finished the set 25-21 on a Nall kill from Nordeen.
Chico State stayed close early in the fourth set with kills from Nall, Fairfield and Heller and a block by Binda and Heller, pulling within 8-7 after the Sunbirds had gone ahead 7-3. The Sunbirds answered with six of the next seven points to move in front 14-8, but the Wildcats worked back to 18-16 behind four Fairfield kills and her service ace. After Pitney and Smith helped the Sunbirds take the next four points for a 22-16 lead, Chico State scored three straight from 24-17 with a Nall-Binda block and a Heller ace, but Pitney's kill ended the set at 25-21.
After the Sunbirds opened the fifth set with a Pitney kill and a Plantinga ace for a 2-0 lead, Davis and Fairfield kills helped Chico State stay within 5-4. The Sunbirds answered with four straight points to move ahead 9-4, getting a Hamilton kill, a Feramisco kill and two Wildcats attack errors during the stretch. Chico State later trailed 14-8 before a Nall kill and two Sunbirds attack errors cut the margin to 14-11, but Smith closed the set for the Sunbirds at 15-11.
With the road and non-conference portion of the schedule completed, the Wildcats will finish the regular-season in Acker Gym, starting with the two opponents they just faced this weekend. They will host UC Merced Friday followed by Fresno Pacific Saturday. Both matches will count towards the CCAA standings and will start at 5 p.m.
