Whenever the Chico State volleyball team and the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters battle, it’s going to be a good fight. Eight of the last 10 meetings between the teams have gone to five sets. This one was a bit shorter, and the ‘Cats came out on top. Chico bested Monterey Bay 25-13, 25-19, 24-26, and 25-14.
In a match filled with lengthy rallies and an overabundance of stoppages in play due to sweat on the Otters’ side of the court, senior libero Emily Duran had 24 digs to eclipse the 1, 000 mark for her career. She is one of just five players in school history to reach such a lofty total.
“I didn’t know I was going to get to it tonight, but I knew I was going to get it this season. I try not to worry about stats too much but it’s still really exciting,” Duran said after the match.
Coming off their three-set sweep over Cal State East Bay the previous night, the ‘Cats rolled over the Otters in the first set, taking about 25 minutes to do so.
The Otters put up more of a fight in the second set, but a service ace by Torey Thompson got the ‘Cats to 25 with Monterey Bay at 19.
Determined to avoid being swept, the Otters hung on to win the third set 26-24 after the ‘Cats fought off several match points. It was the only set Chico State would drop in three matches this past week.
“After [the first set] they came out a little more intense, but we stayed tough all around,” said Duran.
In the fourth set, the ‘Cats turned up the heat. After falling behind 17-12, the Otters were unable to keep up as the ‘Cats breezed by the rest of the way, falling 25-14.
First-year assistant coach David Irving was pleased with the team sharing the load offensively and for the ‘Cats not being slowed down by the Otters frequent stalls in play to mop up perspiration.
“We had four players in double digit kills, which is huge. Ellie [Larronde] had 19 and nine digs, which is almost five kills per set,” Irving said.
Lindsay Quigley had 17 kills, while Kristyn Casalino and Shannon Boling pitched in with 12 kills each. Thompson dished out 58 assists to go with 13 digs.
Nick Reddy can be reached at [email protected] or @NickIsReddy on Twitter.
