Wildcats come up short, fall to Seawolves in three sets

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Wildcats come up short, fall to Seawolves in three sets

Makenzie Snyder had 16 kills and 13 digs Friday, but the Wildcats fell in three sets to visiting Sonoma State.

11/6/2009 10:02:36 PM

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.

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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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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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Leek named to 2011 AVCA All-West Region Team

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All-CCAA status for Leek, Villaescusa

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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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