The Chico State Women’s Volleyball team played two fierce games this weekend against the San Bernardino Coyotes and the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos. 

The Wildcats fought hard but lost 0-3 in both games. The Coyotes and the Broncos are currently ranked in the top 20 teams in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, making them both strong competitors.

The Wildcats scored 16-25, 19-25 and 23-25 against the Coyotes on Oct. 14. The following game against the Broncos, they scored 11-25, 16-25 and 7-25.

At Saturday’s game, red shirts speckled the stands with support from students and family. 

Freshman and Chico State Men’s Soccer player, Weston Joyner, has attended every home volleyball game this semester. He goes to support players Nariah and Nya Prescott, twin sisters on the volleyball team. 

“They definitely, I would say gotten better throughout the season,” Joyner said. 

Joyner met Nariah and Nya Prescott on his floor in the dorms, where he says there are a bunch of athletes. Joyner said the twins also support him at his soccer games.

Junior Brooklyn Anderson scored three kills against the Broncos while her mother, brother and aunt all watched their first Chico State volleyball game. The Anderson family traveled all the way from Washington to cheer her on. 

Sophomore Bree Rodriguez came out strong with a kill in the first seconds of the first match against the Coyotes. During Friday and Saturday’s games, Rodriguez scored a total of four kills and played in every match.

“I feel like we tried our best and we kind of gave it our all,” Rodriguez said.

This weekend, Rodriguez was supported by her parents, grandparents and aunt and uncle. Her family drove all the way from Bakersfield and donned Chico State shirts as they cheered from the bleachers. 

According to junior Zoe DiNardo, it is common for friends and family to attend the games from far-away destinations, the Wildcats have a very encouraging community supporting their hustle.

In order to relax after the two back to back games, Rodriguez planned on taking a hot shower, studying and possibly watching a movie. 

The Wildcats were well supported this weekend, but for Senior Gretta Kirkby the game was “a rough one.” According to Kirkby the team has eight new players, transfers and freshman, and everyone is still getting to know each other. 

“There’s a lot of things on the inside or like behind the scenes that we need to work on, like relationships,” Kirkby said. 

Like Rodriguez, Kirkby planned to relax with a shower, then have dinner with her family. Kirkby’s mom came from Berkeley to watch the game. 

These losses put Chico at 3-15 in the season and 1-10 for the CCAA. The team has two upcoming away games taking place on Oct. 21 against the San Marcos Coyotes and against the East Bay Pioneers the following day, both of which will take place at 3 p.m.

Julia Travers and Molly Myers can be reached at [email protected].