SAN FRANCISCO—On many occasions, the statistics in a sporting event don't tell the whole story of how a contest is decided. Sometimes though, they do—and in Chico State's dominant and spirited sweep of Cal State LA Friday in the semifinals of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Volleyball Championship Tournament, the numbers explain it all. The Wildcats committed just five attack errors the entire match, posting a .458 hitting percentage, and delivered a season-high 14 blocks to sweep the Golden Eagles 25-18, 25-14, 25-16 at The Swamp of the campus of San Francisco State.
Chico State is now 17-13 on the year and is just one match win away from securing the CCAA Championship Tournament title and the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Championship Tournament. The Wildcats will play the South Division's No. 1 seed, Cal State San Bernardino (a five-set semifinal winner over Cal State East Bay) Saturday for the conference title.
With Friday's loss, Cal State LA saw its 2017 season come to an end with an overall record of 15-12.
Kelley Jacome led a balanced Wildcat offense with 10 kills and added four blocks on the night. Olivia Mediano racked up nine kills, nine digs and four blocks, while Bekah Boyle contributed eight kills to the 'Cats' attack. Makaela Keeve posted five kills and seven blocks; Kim Wright contributed four kills and six blocks, and setters McKenna Carroll and Nicole Desrochers combined for 32 assists. Chico State's.458 hitting percentage goes down in the record books as the fourth-best for a single match in the program's history.
The Wildcats came out aggressively in the opening set, using kills by Jacome, Mediano, Keeve and Wright to build a quick 7-3 lead. Cal State LA responded with four unanswered points to tie the score, but kills by Mediano, Wright and Boyle, plus combo blocks by Mediano/Wright and Wright/Jacome fueled a 10-1 Chico State run to put the 'Cats up 17-8.
The Wildcats extended their advantage to nine before the Golden Eagles rallied back to pull to within 20-16. Chico State responded with three Boyle kills and a Wright/Jacome combo block to thwart the Cal State LA comeback, taking the set 25-18.
The 'Cats kept the pedal to the metal in the second set—kills by Mediano and Keeve and combo blocks by Wright/Jacome and Keeve/Mediano helped Chico State jump out to a 9-3 lead. Cal State LA didn't help its cause, committing four errors, and combined with an Anna Baytosh kill and a pair of Keeve/Baytosh combo blocks, the Wildcats went up 16-7. The Golden Eagles could not recover, and three late kills by Boyle sealed the deal as Chico State rolled to the 25-14 victory.
Now with its back to the wall, Cal State LA went out in front early in the third set, only to see Chico State rip off a 6-1 run—highlighted by a Jacome kill and Mediano service ace—to give the Wildcats a 7-3 lead. The Golden Eagles closed to within 8-6, but the 'Cats answered with kills by Wright, Jacome and Mediano to go up 12-7.
Cal State LA crept to within three, but this would be Chico State's night, as three late kills by Jacome and a Keeve/Mediano combo block put the finishing touches on the Wildcats' 25-16 set win and the match sweep.
Fans can follow the action of Saturday's CCAA Volleyball Championship Tournament final online with Live Stats and live streaming video, both available via the Wildcat Athletics website.
