The Wildcats showed up to the Route 92 Showdown ready to play as they didn’t even drop a set, winning 6 straight to sweep their first two games of the season.
In the morning, the ‘Cats completed a three set sweep of Dominican University of California, then came back hours later to do the same to Holy Names University.
Game 1: 1st set- With the score tied at 4-4, the Wildcats pulled away on a 8-3 run to put them up 12-7. The Penguins rallied to bring it within two, at 14-12, but that’s the closest they would get. Chico State would close the game on a 11-5 run to take the first set,
2nd set- The second set was all Chico State, once they went up 4-3 they never looked back. The ‘Cats built on their lead for the rest of the set to take it with ease, 25-13
3rd Set- The Penguins would not go down without a fight as this set was the most competitive. Tied at 9-9, Dominican University pulled away to take a 16-10 lead. The ‘Cats then rallied to tie the game at 19 all, then completed a 6-2 run to complete the sweep.
Top player for the game was Freshman Kim Wright, who had 13 kills, and 2 digs. Sophomore Olivia Mediano also contributed 6 kills and 14 digs.
Game 2- Set 1- It didn’t take long for the ‘Cats to separate themselves to start off the match, going up 9-7, they would only let their opponent score 3 more points the rest of the game, and win by a final of 25-12.
Set 2- The Wildcats would continue their momentum to start the second set, scoring the first six points. The Hawks would show some fight, tying the game at 18 a piece. It was a fight until the bitter end, tied at 23, Chico State won the last two points to take the set 25-23
Set 3- The third set was dominated by the ‘Cats once again. They quickly opened a 16-5 lead to start the game over Holy Names. They would go on to hold the Hawks to just 10 points and win the set with ease, 25-10.
Junior Natalie Nordahl and Mediano led the team with 8 kills each. Sophomore Shannon Cotton had a team high 14 digs during the match as well.
Nick Martinez-Esquibel can be reached at [email protected] or @THENickMartinez on Twitter
