CHICO, Calif. — For the 13th time in 26 meetings, Cal State Monterey Bay and Chico State put the gloves on for a heavyweight fight destined to go the full 15 rounds. Unfortunately for the Otters, Chico once again found away to pull one out of the fire, coming all the way back to win 16–25, 17–25, 25–22, 25–22, 15–9  Saturday night in Acker Gym.

CSUMB started out on fire, beating the Wildcats by the largest margin in series history in the opening set. After another comfortable win in the second set, the Otters were on the doorstep of sweeping their long, 3–match roadtrip.

But Chico came back to pull out a close third set before rallying back from 18–12 down in the fourth. The Wildcats then gradually eased away in the fifth to complete the comeback.

Amber Tygart (Yucaipa HS) led the Otter offense and matched her career high with 17 kills. Maddy Underwood (Spokane, Wash./Mead HS) added 15 kills and Anela Visesio (Seaside HS) finished with 13.

Alá Olson (Vancouver, Wash./Columbia River HS) matched her career high with four assists.
 

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THE MATCH WAS OVER WHEN… A Makaela Keeve kill gave Chico a 10–6 lead in the fifth set. The Otters never got closer than three points the rest of the match.

BRENNAN'S REMARKABLE STREAK ENDS… Samantha Brennan's remarkable errorless streak came to an end on her final swing Saturday night. But what a streak it was. She didn't make a single error over 82 swings covering eight matches. Her line during the run was 41–0–82 (.500).

LENDING A HAND… With 49 assists Saturday at Chico, Erica Chapa (San Benito HS/Gavilan College) passed Monique Sena (2010) for No. 7 on the Otter single–season list with 643.

ARMSTRONG DIGS IN… Ashlynne Armstrong collected 30 or more digs for the second time as an Otter to move into the No. 10 spot on the CSUMB career list with 833. She passed Courtney Taubert (806) and Kelsey Johnston (811) Saturday night.

MADDY MAKES HER POINT… Maddy Underwood collected 17.5 points Saturday night to pass Kerri Sudarsana (2006–09) for the No. 9 spot on the CSUMB career points list with 673.5.

LEADERS OF THE PACK… POINTS: Amber Tygart 18.0; KILLS: Amber Tygart 17; BLOCKS: Baylie Pierson 4; ACES: Alá Olson 4; DIGS: Ashlynne Armstrong 130.

THE LAST WORD… "We played the way we are capable of playing for 2 1/2 sets, but Chico is a great program and doesn't give anything up. Chico beat us, they out–worked us and took more risks than we did at the end. I am confident that we will respond and learn from this. This team is hungry and looking forward to getting back to work." — CSUMB Head Coach Moe Melhart

THEY'VE GOT NEXT… The Otters return home to host a pair of CCAA matches next weekend, starting Friday night against Cal State Dominguez Hills. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.