CHICO, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos volleyball team closed out its four-match road trip with its third consecutive victory on Saturday night, taking a four-set win (25-16, 25-17, 15-25, 29-27) over Chico State in CCAA action at Art Acker Gymnasium.  
 
CSUSM 3 - CHICO STATE 1 (25-16, 25-17, 15-25, 29-27)
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Stephanie Adams – 14 kills | 11 digs | three aces
Kassy Doering – 10 kills | three blocks
Kelsy Rasmussen – eight kills | .313 clip
Madison Turner – 40 assists | 12 digs
Kiora Ridgeway – six blocks | five kills
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The opening set featured 10 ties and three lead changes.
• The Wildcats began to pull away at the 14-11 mark with kills by Brooke Ono and Makaela Keeve.
• The Cougars closed out the first set with a 14-3 run that included four aces, a pair from both Grecia Cordero-Barr and Jackie Phillips.
• CSUSM hit .313 (15k-5-32ta) in the first set.
• Three consecutive hitting errors by the Wildcats put CSUSM up 9-5 in the second set, forcing Chico State to call a timeout.
• The Cougars cruised to a 25-17 second set win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
• CSUSM got off to a slow start in the third set, trailing 9-4 before taking a timeout.
• The Cougars were never able to catch up to the Wildcats, dropping the third set 25-15.
• Back-to-back kills by Jessica Thomas followed by a Ridgeway kill and a pair of aces from Cordero-Barr sparked a fire for CSUSM, giving the Cougars a 11-7 lead in the fourth set.
• With CSUSM leading 24-17, the Wildcats charged back by waving off six consecutive match points before eventually tying the set at 24-all on a block by Keeve and Gretta Kirkby.
• The Wildcats stopped another match-point opportunity for CSUSM before getting their own set-point opportunity.
• A kill by Adams followed by a Wildcat hitting error gave CSUSM its ninth chance at match point.
• A tip over the block by Rasmussen clinched the set (29-27) and match for CSUSM.

 
QUICK HITS

• CSUSM improves to 12-8 overall and 9-5 in CCAA action.
• Chico State falls to 8-14 on the season and 4-10 in conference play.
• This marks CSUSM's first time winning three consecutive CCAA road matches without playing at home. In 2019, the Cougars won three straight road matches, but they were staggered with home stops in-between them.
• The Cougars matched last night's ace total of 12, the program's record in the NCAA Division II era.
• CSUSM continues to lead the all-time series at 6-3 against Chico State and are now 3-1 on the road against the Wildcats.
• Turner collected her 15th double-double in 2021, finishing the night with 40 assists and 12 digs.
• Adams tallied her fourth double-double of the season and first against a CCAA opponent, recording 14 kills and 11 digs at Chico.
• With tonight's win and Sonoma State's loss at San Francisco State last night, the Cougars are now fifth in the CCAA standings. CSUSM has a one-match lead on SSU, who is playing at Cal State Monterey Bay tonight at 7 p.m.
• For the first time in CCAA tournament history for volleyball, only the top six teams in the standings will advance. Previously it was the top eight teams that would move on to the conference tournament.  

 
UP NEXT
The Cougars return for their final homestand of the 2021 season on Thursday, welcoming No. 5 Cal State San Bernardino to The Sports Center. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.