CHICO, Calif. — The Chico State volleyball team defeated CCAA newcomer Menlo 3-1 (19-25, 25-17, 32-30, 25-16) on Saturday. Like Thursday, the match was kept off the conference standings and treated as non-conference.
The Wildcats erased a 24-21 deficit in the third set, moved ahead 26-25 and went on to take the set 32-30.
The Wildcats have totaled 520 digs this season, with 62 in the current game. Maria Wahl led the Wildcats with 20.5 points, recording 17 kills, four blocks and a .412 hitting percentage. Wahl achieved the milestone of 100 points, totaling 119 points this season. Kassandra Nall finished with a team-high 18 kills while hitting .400, adding three blocks and 20 points. Nall reached a career milestone of 100 points, totaling 109, with 20 points in the current game. Claire Nordeen posted 38 assists and 12 digs. Nordeen has recorded at least 38 set assists in back-to-back games. Jessica Ortiz collected a team-best 15 digs and added 13 assists. Ortiz set a career-high with 13 assists.
After the Oaks (4-8) scored the first five points, Chico State worked back with help from kills by Wahl and Whitney Fairfield and pulled even at 6-6. Menlo moved back in front as Fuka Kikuchi had three kills in a stretch that pushed the score to 13-9, and the visitors later extended the margin to 16-10. The Wildcats cut into the deficit with kills by Nall, Wahl and Fairfield, getting as close as 22-19 on consecutive Fairfield kills. The Oaks took the final three points, closing the set 25-19 on a Kate Ross kill.
After the Oaks scored the first point, Nall tied the set with a kill from Nordeen, and Chico State won the next seven points with Jillian Davis serving to go ahead 8-1. The Wildcats moved in front 18-10 on a Nall kill and a Nall block, but the Oaks took the next four points behind kills by Michelle Mlikan and Kate Ross, a Mlikan ace, and a block by Saarika Gunapu and Fuka Kikuchi to get within 18-14. Chico State stayed in front at 22-16, then Fairfield's kill and service ace made it 24-16; after the Oaks extended the set with a Fuka Kikuchi kill, Wyievee Binda finished the 25-17 set win with a kill from Sinam Minasian.
The Wildcats opened the third set with kills from Binda, Wahl and Nall to help build a 4-0 lead, but the Oaks tied it at 6-6 on Fuka Kikuchi's kill and later moved in front 13-10. The Oaks stretched the lead to 22-16 on another Kikuchi kill before the Wildcats answered with kills from Davis and Binda, then used three straight Nall kills to get within 23-21. Menlo reached set point at 24-21, but Binda's kill, a Fairfield-Wahl block, and another Nall kill tied the set at 24-24 before Wahl's block gave Chico State a 26-25 lead. The teams traded points through 30-30, and Wahl closed the set with back-to-back kills, the last from Marley Harrison, to give the Wildcats a 32-30 win.
The 'Cats moved in front 5-1 in the fourth set, getting kills from Davis, Nall and Wahl along with two Menlo attack errors. After the Oaks worked the score to 7-3, the Wildcats won seven of the next eight rallies to go ahead 14-4, with Minasian serving an ace and blocks involving Fairfield, Nordeen and Davis contributing to the stretch. Chico State later moved from 18-9 to 22-10 on an Oaks service error, a Wahl kill, an Oaks kill, another Wahl kill and a Nall kill. Menlo answered with three straight points to make it 22-13, but Wahl recorded kills for 23-13 and set point at 24-15 before Davis finished the 25-16 set with a kill from Ortiz.
The Wildcats and the rest of the CCAA will go back to work on the conference standings next week with Chico State visiting Cal State East Bay on Friday at 5 p.m.
