Chico State 3, Cal Poly Pomona 2,
Sept. 14, 2012 | Art Acker Gymnasium | Chico, Calif.
Box Score: Interactive | HTML Season Statistics: HTML |
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Scoreboard |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
F |
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Cal Poly Pomona (1-3, 0-0 CCAA) |
14 |
25 |
14 |
25 |
11 |
2 |
Chico State (0-1, 0-0 CCAA)
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25 |
20 |
25 |
18 |
15 |
3 |
Courtesy of Rory Miller
Chico State Sports Information
CHICO, Calif. – The Chico State volleyball team was extremely aggressive offensively Friday in its home and conference opener against Cal Poly Pomona. The Wildcats had to be – the Broncos possess one of the biggest front lines in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Despite having 19 shots blocked at the net, the 'Cats kept attacking, finally outlasting Pomona in an exciting five-set match 25-14, 20-25, 25-14, 18-25, 15-11 at Acker Gym.
With the victory, Chico State improves to 7-1 on the season and 1-0 in the CCAA. Cal Poly Pomona, which saw its five-match winning streak come to an end, dropped to 5-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play with Friday's loss.
Alex Shurtz led Chico State with 19 kills, but sophomore middle hitter Lindsay Quigley turned in the finest performance of her young Wildcat career, hammering home a career-high 18 kills and posting a sizzling .560 attack percentage. Sable Villaescusa doled out 43 assists while contributing 10 digs and a pair of service aces; Jessica Simms tallied a team-high 18 digs and delivered a pair of aces, and Emily Duran racked up three aces in the 'Cats' conference-opening win.
Chico State took charge early in the opening set. Leading 5-3, the Wildcats used kills by Shurtz, Quigley, Villaescusa, Ellie Larronde and Kelsie Hanson to fuel a 17-6 run and go up comfortably by a score of 22-9. Pomona made a late run, but it didn't prevent the 'Cats from cruising to the 25-14 victory.
The Broncos broke out to a 6-0 lead and never trailed in the second set, though Chico State made Pomona work for the win, cutting the deficit to 23-20. The comeback went for naught, though, as two late Wildcat errors handed the Broncos the match-tying 25-20 victory.
The 'Cats maintained their aggressive play in the third set, using nine Pomona errors and aces by Quigley and Hannah Wilkins to race out to a 12-5 lead. The Broncos could get no closer than five points the rest of the way, and set-clinching kills by Quigley and Villaescusa tied the bow on Chico State's 25-14 win.
The Wildcats mounted an early 12-7 lead in the fourth set, but the Broncos weren't about to roll over, scoring 17 of the next 22 points – four coming on blocks – to go up 24-17. A
Lauren Jones kill cemented Pomona's 25-18 victory to force a fifth and deciding set.
Chico State fell behind early 2-1, but powered by a Villaescusa service ace and kills by Shurtz, Wilkins and Katie Morley, reeled off eight unanswered points to take a 9-2 lead. Again the Broncos battled back, trimming the deficit to 13-11. Chico State, though, slammed the door on any Pomona comeback hopes, with a Quigley kill and a Broncos defensive error giving the Wildcats the 15-11 win and the match.
It was Chico State's fourth straight victory over Cal Poly Pomona and sixth in the last seven meetings with the Broncos dating back to the 2009 season.
The Wildcats are back in action Saturday, taking on Humboldt State at Acker Gym. The Lumberjacks, 2-7 on the season, suffered its fourth straight loss Friday, bowing in three sets to Cal State Stanislaus. Saturday's match is scheduled for 7 p.m.
