It was a Tuesday night thriller for the Chico State women’s volleyball team as it racked up its 11th win of the season, and third in conference play, with a 3-2 set win over the San Francisco State Gators.

Set one: The first set of the match was close. Both teams were tied at six, and then again at 15. The Wildcats went on a 5-2 run to take control 20-17 before taking the first set 25-21.

Set two: San Francisco State bounced back strong, trying to avoid losing the first two sets of the match. The Gators jumped out to an early 11-4 lead and wouldn’t let up the entire match. They closed out the ‘Cats, 25-11 to even up the match at one set win each.

Set three: Neither team seemed to be able to pull away in the third set. The teams tied at 8, 9, 15, 16, 17 and 19. With the score at 19 all, the Wildcats went on a 6-1 run to win the third set 25-20 and take a two to one set lead.

Set four: The Gators wouldn’t go without a fight. With the ‘Cats up 18-12, San Francisco State rallied to tie the set at 24. The teams then tied at 25 and 26, until the Gators pulled away to take the set 28-26 and force a winner-take-all final fifth set.

Set five: The Wildcats came out strong in the final set, taking a strong 7-4 lead. The ‘Cats wouldn’t let up and beat the Gators 15-12 to take the final set of the match.

Key players:

Olivia Mediano, Sophomore: 23 kills, three aces and 12 digs

Torey Thompson, Junior: 51 assists, one ace and 18 digs

Shannon Cotton, Sophomore: 27 digs, seven assists

Nick Martinez-Esquibel can be reached at [email protected] or @THENickMartinez on Twitter.