CHICO, Calif. – Even with all the success that the Chico State volleyball team has enjoyed this season, an invitation to the NCAA Championship Tournament hinged heavily on the Wildcats’ last four matches of the regular season. Friday the No. 25 ’Cats tangled with No. 18 Sonoma State in a battle for sole possession of fourth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), and the visiting Seawolves dealt a huge blow to Chico Sate’s postseason aspirations with a 25-23, 25-22, 25-15 victory at Acker Gym.
The loss – Chico State’s second straight and third in the last five matches – not only dropped the ’Cats to 21-8 on the year, but their 12-7 conference record puts the Wildcats into a fifth place tie with San Francisco State in the CCAA standings. Friday’s win upped Sonoma State’s season record to 21-6 and 13-6 in conference play.
The Seawolves played aggressively from the opening serve, quickly building a sizeable 14-6 in the match’s first set. Chico State rallied, utilizing five Makenzie Snyder kills to score 13 of the next 20 points and pull to within 21-19. Sonoma State pushed the lead back to four, but the Wildcats dug in again – kills by Snyder and Kayla Baumgardner and a Jessica Leek service ace made the score 24-23. The Seawolves quickly ended the drama when Sarah Illingworth delivered the kill that gave Sonoma State the 25-23 opening set win.
Chico State jumped out to an early 3-0 advantage in the second set, only to see Sonoma go on an 11-5 run to take a three point lead. The Wildcats chipped away at the deficit, as kills by Snyder, Leek, Gillian Heydorff and Jacqueline Johnson helped Chico State go back in front 20-19. Now it was the Seawolves’ turn to play catch-up, and they promptly reeled off six of the next eight points to hand the Wildcats a 25-22 defeat.
Sonoma State was in total control in the third and final set, spotting Chico State the opening point and then going on a 16-5 run to take command of the contest. The Wildcats didn’t give up, as Snyder and Johnson powered a 5-1 mini-run to pull Chico State to within six. But that was as close as the ’Cats would get, as the Seawolves rolled to the 25-15 victory to sweep the match and avenge their five-set loss to Chico State October 3 in Rohnert Park.
Snyder had a great night statistically for Chico State, registering 16 kills and posting a .424 attack percentage; she also contributed 13 digs. Leek had eight kills, while Heydorff had 13 digs to put her up and over the 1,000 mark for her Chico State career. Heydorff also had one service ace to tie her for No. 1 all-time in Wildcat history for career aces. Sable Villaescusa piled up 30 assists for the Wildcats, while Jessica Simms chipped in with 12 digs and six assists. Keala Peterson had 16 kills to lead the victorious Seawolves.
BOX SCORE
Chico State plays its final home match of the regular season Saturday when they welcome the Lumberjacks of Humboldt State to Acker Gym. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.