Tritons spoil Chico State's Halloween, tame Wildcats in three sets

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Tritons spoil Chico State's Halloween, tame Wildcats in three sets

Volleyball players Gillian Heydorff and Makenzie Snyder.

Gillian Heydorff (L) and Makenzie Snyder combined for 21 kills, but UC San Diego topped the Wildcats in three sets Saturday afternoon at Acker Gym.

10/31/2009 6:43:39 PM

CHICO, Calif. – The Haunted Hall at Acker Gym attracted plenty of costumed youngsters Saturday afternoon, but for the Chico State volleyball team, the day’s treats stopped there as the No. 2 UC San Diego Tritons handed out most of the tricks, running its winning streak to 15 straight by beating the No. 25 Wildcats in three sets, 25-21, 25-23 and 25-17.

The loss dropped Chico State to 21-7 on the year and 12-6 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). UC San Diego, in a dogfight with Cal State San Bernardino for the top spot in the conference standings, improved to 24-1 overall with Saturday’s win and 16-1 in conference play.

The Tritons broke out to an early 7-3 lead in the opening set, and had an answer to just about every Chico State rally attempt. With the score 9-7, UC San Diego scored nine of the next 13 points to fashion a more comfortable 18-11 advantage. The Wildcats used kills by Makenzie Snyder, Gillian Heydorff and Jacqueline Johnson to pull to within 21-19, but three Triton kills and a service ace by Cara Simonsen sealed UC San Diego’s 25-21 opening set victory.

The match’s second set was the most tightly contested of the afternoon, as neither team led by more than two the entire way. Snyder delivered seven kills for Chico State in the set, but the Wildcats let two late leads (16-14 and 20-19) slip away, and UC San Diego, after grabbing a 21-20 advantage, used two kills apiece from Katie Condon and Sylvia Schmidt to power its way to the 25-23 win.

The Tritons were in complete charge of the third set, spotting Chico State an early 3-2 lead, then going on an 18-8 run to go up 20-11. The Wildcats didn’t give up and battled ‘til the end, but could get no closer than six points as Janessa Werhane plunged the dagger with a service ace to give UC San Diego the 25-17 victory and the sweep of the match.

Snyder finished the day with a team-high 10 kills and added nine digs for Chico State, while Heydorff had 10 kills, a service ace and two solo blocks on defense. Sable Villaescusa contributed 28 assists to the Wildcats’ cause, while Jessica Simms led the team with 13 digs. Schmidt posted a match-high 19 kills for UC San Diego while the CCAA’s top setter, Elaine Chen, piled up 41 assists and delivered four service aces in the winning effort.

BOX SCORE

Chico State will play its final two home matches of the regular season next Friday and Saturday – on Friday, November 6 the Wildcats welcome Sonoma State to Acker Gym, followed by a Saturday showdown with Humboldt State. Both matches are scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

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Wildcats of the Week

Caressa Williams

Women's Basketball

For much of the season, redshirt freshman Caressa Williams has been sitting at the end of the Chico State women’s basketball team bench, seeing very little on-court action. But the former Paradise High School star continued to work hard on her game, and the extra effort has paid off in recent weeks with significantly more playing time. After a string of short but impressive relief roles, Williams delivered a breakout performance Saturday against Humboldt State, posting career highs in scoring and rebounding in the Wildcats’ 90-67 thumping of Humboldt State. Her strongest effort to date makes Williams the latest Wildcat of the Week.

Williams shot over 58 percent (7-of-12), averaging just under 10 points and five rebounds in Chico State’s two weekend contests. She began the weekend with a solid outing Friday against Sonoma State, contributing five points, two rebounds, one assist and two steals in 16 minutes of action. Saturday, though, she was a major part of the Wildcat reserves combining to score 51 in the team’s convincing 23-point win over Humboldt. Williams played 24 minutes, scoring 14 points and hauling in seven rebounds – both career highs – connecting on five of her seven field goal attempts. She also chipped in with an assist and a steal in addition to shining on the defensive end.

Williams’ productive weekend saw her season scoring average more than double, rising from 1.6 to 3.6 points per game. Overall, she is shooting 50 percent from the field and is averaging two rebounds a contest.

Chico State is back in action this weekend, hosting Cal Poly Pomona Friday and San Francisco State Saturday at Acker Gym. Both games are scheduled to tipoff at 5:30 p.m.

Amir Carraway

Men's Basketball

Amir Carraway capped a strong weekend with team highs of 16 points and seven rebounds in the Wildcats’ huge win against Humboldt State Saturday night to earn Wildcat of the Week honors for the second time this season.

The sophomore from Vallejo made two game-sealing free throws with 21 seconds left to finish the night 6-of-7 from the free throw line and pulled down key rebounds on two of the Lumberjacks’ last three possessions. He also set the screen on Jay Flores’ dagger 3-pointer with 40 seconds left.

Carraway finished with 10 points and four rebounds despite playing just 18 minutes due to foul trouble during the Wildcats’ loss to Sonoma State the night before.

The 6-foot-5 forward leads the team in rebounding at 5.5 per game and ranks second in scoring at 10.6 points per game a season after averaging just 1.4 points and one rebound in only 5.4 minutes a night. He’s now led the team in scoring five times and rebounding six this season.

Carraway and the Wildcats, among four teams tied for second in the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings, trail conference co-leaders Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Dominguez Hills by just one game. They’ll welcome Cal Poly Pomona to town Friday night and San Francisco State Saturday.

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11.28.11 | Women's Volleyball

All-America honor the capper to Leek’s standout season

CHICO – The postseason has been nearly as productive for Chico State volleyball player Jessica Leek as the season itself. After an outstanding 2011 campaign, Leek has been hauling in the hardware ever since – a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) First Team award, All-West Region honors, and a spot on the CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District Volleyball Team. Monday Leek received yet another esteemed honor, earning All-America Honorable Mention from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).

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11.22.11 | Women's Volleyball

Leek named to 2011 AVCA All-West Region Team

CHICO – Jessica Leek’s best year yet as a Chico State Wildcat received more postseason recognition Tuesday – after winning All-California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) First Team honors, the junior opposite hitter was among 14 players named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-West Region team.

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11.16.11 | Women's Volleyball

All-CCAA status for Leek, Villaescusa

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11.14.11 | Women's Volleyball

The Sound - and Sight - of Music on the court earns senior Wildcat of the Week honors

Playing backup to an all-conference and all-West Region athlete usually doesn’t allow for a whole lot of playing time. That’s exactly what Kristan Music has endured in her two years with the Chico State volleyball team – with Sable Villaescusa establishing herself as one of the top setters in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), Music has had precious little court time to show off her skills. But Saturday against Cal State Dominguez Hills, Music finally got her chance to shine, and she did not disappoint – in what turned out to be her final collegiate match, she played the final two sets and guided the ’Cats to a sweep of the visiting Toros. Music’s performance earned the Marysville native Wildcat of the Week honors.

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11.13.11 | Women's Volleyball

Sooooo close – Wildcats fall short of earning NCAA Tournament bid

CHICO – The Chico State volleyball team knew it had to finish the 2011 season strong and be the beneficiaries of some good old-fashioned Lady Luck to nab a berth in the NCAA Championship Tournament. The Wildcats, ranked No. 9 in the West Region, got both over the weekend with wins over Cal State L.A. and Cal State Dominguez Hills, and with No. 8 Alaska-Anchorage falling Saturday to Western Oregon, the ’Cats’ chances of extending their season increased dramatically. But despite the tide seemingly turning in Chico State’s favor, it still wasn’t enough to earn a trip to the postseason, as the ’Cats learned Sunday night they were not among the field of 64 teams vying for the Division II national championship.

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