OTTERS vs. WILDCAT HIGHLIGHTS


SEASIDE, Calif. — When Cal State Monterey Bay and Chico State meet on the volleyball court, it's best to get comfortable. You're likely to be awhile.

Friday night in The Kelp Bed, the Otters and Wildcats went the distance for the ninth time in their last 15 meetings. This time, Chico held off a CSUMB rally to pull out a 21–25, 25–20, 25–18, 25–27, 15–11 win.

CSUMB (8–8, 4–6 CCAA)  got a match–high 18 kills from Maddy Underwood (Spokane, Wash./Mead HS) and 17 more from Amber Tygart (Yucaipa HS), but it wasn't enough to topple the CCAA's hottest team. Olivia Mediano led Chico (14–4, 8–1) with 15 kills.

After going up two sets to one, Chico saved a pair of set points in the fourth before consecutive kills from Underwood and Tygart forced the decisive fifth set. Back-to-back kills by Camryn Rocha broke a 6–6 tie in the fifth and, despite trading sideouts four times, the Otters couldn't catch Chico down the stretch.

 

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THE MATCH WAS OVER WHEN… A Kim Wright kill made it 14–11 in fifth. Wright went back to serve match point and didn't allow the Otters a good swing before Ashton Kershner's touch block ended the affair..

LEADERS OF THE RAFT… POINTS: Amber Tygart 19.5, Maddy Underwood 18.0; KILLS: Maddy Underwood 18, Amber Tygart 17; ACES: Alá Olson 4; ASSISTS: Marissa Miller 46; BLOCKS: Chandler McKean, amber Tygart 4; DIGS: Maddy Underwood 22.

CAREER NIGHT FOR UNDERWOOD… Junior outside hitter Maddy Underwood set career highs with her 18 kills and 22 digs Friday night. It marked her eighth double–double of the season.

GOING THE DISTANCE… The Otters fell to 5–2 in 5–set matches this season.

NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY… The Otters lost a match in which they won the fourth set for the first time this season (7–1). The Otters are 16–2 when winning the fourth set dating back to the 2013 season.

THE LAST WORD… "We knew it was going to be a competitive match and Chico is such a competitive team. We didn't really have a gameplan other than to play hard. I was really proud of how we game out and played point-for-point with a great team." — CSUMB Head Coach Moe Melhart.

THEY'VE GOT NEXT… The Otters close their 3–match homestand by hosting Stanislaus State Saturday at 7 p.m.