The Wildcats continued their offensive pressure on Saturday, securing back-to-back sweeps with set scores of 25-15, 25-12 and 25-11 against Cal State Dominguez Hills. The win avenged a tough five-set loss on the road from early in the season.
The Wildcats boasted a season-high .394 hitting percentage, highlighting their strong offensive performance and lifting their season average to .357.
The Toros collected a total of 21 kills and 36 digs, while the Wildcats had 43 kills and 57 digs.
The Wildcats started the game with a kill by opposite hitter Cashe Olswang from defensive specialist Jessie Camarillo.
With two more kills, an attack error and an ace by outside hitter Maria Wahl from setter Claire Nordeen, the Wildcats led the game by five points until outside hitter Sophia Heller made two attack errors, giving the Toros their first two points.
The Toros caught up due to a kill and attack errors by the Wildcats, eventually ending up in a 6-6 tie. Nordeen made a kill for the Wildcats from Heller, but only to draw again after a kill by Otters Bailey Fuches from setter Giovannina De Sisto.
The streak of Nordeen making another kill and a following kill by Fuches came to a quick end with a kill by Wahl, but the Toros caught up to tie the set again because of a service error by Nordeen.
The Wildcats were in full control for the rest of the first set with ten more kills, four attack errors and inconsistent play from the Toros.
After a kill by middle hitter Gwyneth Wentzel, the Wildcats celebrated their first set win as they hurried off the court.
The second set started with a service ace and a service error by Wahl, and at 3-3, it looked like it would mirror the back-and-forth start of the first set, but the Wildcats quickly took control for the rest of the set.
The Wildcats extended their lead, dominating with 13 kills and just two attack errors, while the Toros struggled with five attack errors and three service errors despite tallying six kills.
The second set ended 25-12, with the Wildcats firmly in control of the match.
In the third set, the Wildcats started with another kill by Heller from Nordeen. The Toros got ahead 3-1, but that lead didn’t last long, with two attack errors by Fuches and a service ace by Olswang, the Wildcats quickly regained the lead and never looked back.
After Nordeen’s kill put the Wildcats at 10, the Toros remained at six for 10 plays until middle blocker Ashley Gilbert made a kill for the Toros, finally stopping the Wildcat point streak at a score of 20-7.
But with kills by Wentzel, Wahl, Nordeen, Olswang and middle hitter Wyievee Binda as well as two service aces in a row by Nordeen, the Wildcats stayed ahead of the Toros for the rest of the third set.
Capping off the third set of a match they controlled throughout at 25-11, the Wildcats cheerfully ran off the court with proud Interim Head Coach Ricci Luyties.
With a 9-12 overall and 5-9 conference record, the Wildcats will play their next game on the road against Cal Poly Pomona on Friday at 3 p.m. in Kellogg Arena.
For information about all Chico State athletics or to keep up with the game live, visit the Wildcat home page, or watch through FloSports.
Malisse Busby can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].
