Hawaii has been filled with nail-biting matches for our Chico State women’s volleyball team. On Friday the girls fought in a doubleheader that marked the second day of matches in the 2019 Hawaii Challenge. With each match going on to a fifth set the Wildcats just came shy of a finalizing score of 12-15 in both last sets.

The Wildcats faced Hawaii Hilo in their first match of the day after beating Minot State on Thursday. Hawaii Hilo took the first two sets away from Chico State, but the Wildcats brought the intensity in the third and fourth sets. The fifth set did not go the way the Wildcats anticipated, as Hawaii Hilo came out on top for the win.

“Through the first two games, it was a ‘there’s nothing to lose situation’, and we knew that we had to have a big shift in energy in order to compete,” Senior libero, Brooke Fogel said. “So, we came out fired up with lots of energy and that was what allowed us to take sets three and four.”

With 158 total attacks against Hawaii Hilo the Wildcats brought forth their aggressiveness at the net, especially during the third and fourth sets. This, in part, is what allowed them to get to set five.

“Overall, we have to do a better job at fixing sets that aren’t located, and we have to do a better job at staying positive and passionate the entire game,” Fogel said.

The second game of the doubleheader turned out to be even more thrilling as the scores of the first four sets ended 22-25, 27-25, 25-21, 23-25. The Wildcats had 170 total attacks against Hawaii Pacific, and their hitting percentage increased from .133 the previous game to .218.

Despite the tough loses the Wildcats’ playing game has been looking up. Close battles in many sets have showed the intensity and the competitiveness that Chico State needs to have a winning season.

They hope to bring the heat Saturday as they conclude the Hawaii Challenge going head-to-head against Chaminade University at 10 p.m.

Karina Cope can be reached at [email protected] or @KarinaICope on Twitter.