BOX SCORE

SEASIDE, Calif. — Displaying a mettle that belied its overwhelming youth, the Cal State Monterey Bay volleyball team battled back from the brink, only to fall in five sets to No. 27 Chico State 25-22, 25-17, 19-25, 20-25, 15-11 Friday night in The Kelp Bed.

That the teams went five came as little surprise. Five of the previous six meetings between the two teams went the distance. What did get CSUMB's largest crowd of the season (368) on its feet, however, was the way the young Otters scrapped back.

Despite 59 of their 66 points coming from freshmen and sophomores, the Otters came from two sets down to force a deciding set for just the second time in two-plus seasons. Naturally, the last time it happened came at Chico State in 2011. Sadly for Otter fans, the result was the same.

The battle between CSUMB and Chico featured a heavyweight showdown of the CCAA's top two hitters: Julia Ashen of the Otters and Alex Shurtz of Chico State. Ashen entered the match No. 2 in the CCAA and No. 16 in the nation by averaging 4.18 kills per set. Shurtz, meanwhile, ranked No. 1 and No. 6 respectively at 4.47 kps.

While both players led their respective teams in kills — Ashen with 14 and Shurtz with 16 — both game plans forced the opposing star to work hard for what they got. Ashen hit just .073 and Shurtz hit just .070.

With the big guns effectively cancelling each other out, the supporting casts took advantage of their opportunities to influence the outcome. For CSUMB, freshman middle blocker Janai Johnson put down a career-high eight blocks (three solo) and reached double figures for the third time in four matches with 10 kills. Freshman outside hitter Jessica Malcolm recorded 12 kills for her fourth consecutive double-figure performance. Defensively, freshman libero Rachel Cookus led a quartet of Otters in double figures with a season-high 23 digs.

For Chico, sophomore outside hitter Ellie Larronde, a product of nearby Salinas High School, reached double figures for the third consecutive match with 14 kills. Jessica Simms and Emily Duran led the Wildcats with 22 and 21 digs apiece.

Most of Friday's drama came in the first and fourth sets. Set one featured 10 ties and five lead changes until Chico broke a 20-20 tie by scoring the final five points. The Wildcats led wire-to-wire in their 25-17 set two win.

For CSUMB, meanwhile, a Johnson kill at 1-1 gave the Otters a lead they wouldn't relinquish throughout their 25-19 set three win. The fourth set held a bit more drama until a Shurtz hitting error and three consecutive aces by sophomore setter Kelsey Johnston broke a 13-13 tie and pointed the Otters to a 25-20 win that forced set five.

Neither team led by more than two points early in the fifth. A pair of Victoria Clardy kills pulled the CSUMB into a 7-7 tie midway through the set. But Larronde's final kill of the night started a four-point spurt by Chico that gave the Wildcats control and, ultimately, the match.

CSUMB (9-7, 3-5 CCAA) closes its five-match homestand by hosting Cal State Stanislaus Saturday at 7 p.m. Chico State (11-4, 5-3) heads to Hayward to take on Cal State East Bay Saturday night.