The women's volleyball team capped off the 2008 regular season on the road with back-to-back 3-0 sweeps against Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday and San Francisco State on Saturday.
This was the second time the 'Cats swept the teams back-to-back this season, the first was on Oct. 10 and 11.
These were crucial wins in the competitive California Collegiate Athletic Association for the Wildcats to even have a chance to make a third-consecutive postseason appearance in the NCAA Championship Pacific Region playoffs Thursday in San Bernardino.
The 'Cats easily took Cal State Monterey Bay - 25-15, 25-17, 25-22 - but San Francisco State provided stiffer competition, which was reflected in the scores - 25-23, 25-23 and 25-22.
"Both nights, we played really well," junior outside hitter Gillian Heydorff said. "San Francisco was a better team than I thought they were going to be. They were all pretty close games."
Had the team split over the weekend, it was almost guaranteed there wouldn't have been a tournament berth for Chico State, but the 'Cats played hard, determined to earn a spot.
"The whole team stayed composed," head coach Cody Hein said. "They were really focused and really understood we had to play with pressure, and I felt like we responded well."
Chico State was solid in its passing and service receiving, which has been an issue this season and hurt the Wildcats' offensive timing, Hein said.
Another key to the Wildcats' success, aside from the overall team effort, was the high level of play from Heydorff, Hein said. It was her third-straight week of double-digit kills and low errors.
Heydorff led both nights, posting match-high kills of 14 against Cal State Monterey Bay, along with four service aces, and 13 kills against San Francisco State.
She credits her success to senior setter Erica Brick's outstanding ability to quickly set her, which doesn't allow blockers to step in front of her and put hands
up, she said.
Season kill and digs leader, senior outside hitter Lindsay Macias, led both nights with match-high digs, with 19 Friday and 12 Saturday, bringing her season totals to 323 digs and 287 kills.
Having been to the playoffs the last two years, Macias knew the effort required to make a postseason appearance, she said.
"We definitely played like it could have been our last game," she said. "We were pretty confident that it wasn't, but there's always that 'what if' thing."
Brick did as she's done several times this season, having the match-high mark in assists by a large margin, with 37 Friday and 39 Saturday. She ends the regular season with 1,092 and a career record of more than 4,000.
The fifth-seed Wildcats, now 20-10 overall and 13-7 in CCAA, were told Sunday night that their efforts were enough to get into the playoffs, so they will be going against fourth-seed Sonoma State in San Bernardino on Thursday.
Julian Williamson can be reached at jwilliamson@theorion.com
Related links
Box score from Thursday's game
Box score from Saturday's game
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