TURLOCK, Calif. – Dominican women's volleyball fell 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-20) to Chico State as it opened competition at the Stanislaus State Volleyball Tournament on Friday at Fitzpatrick Arena.
 
Camille Rivers had 30 assists and 11 digs for the Penguins while Reagan Macha finished with eight kills and two aces. The Wildcats were led by eight kills and two aces from Gwyneth Wentzel. Dominican had more kills (35-34) but Chico State took advantage of several errors with a .216 hitting percentage on the match.
 
The Wildcats opened on a 5-1 run as they were able to spread the ball to four different hitters for kills. The Penguins were able to secure several side outs, but a flurry of errors helped Chico State extend its lead to nine near the midway point of the set. Dominican was able to slowly eat into its deficit behind several small runs as a kill by Reagan Macha followed by a Wildcat error closed the gap to 16-11. Camille Rivers found Reese Bozak and Ashlyn Daugherty for back-to-back kills that saw the Penguins close to within four, but Maria Wahl settled down Chico State with a pair of kills as it extended its lead on the way to a 25-15 victory.
 
Dominican got off to a much better start in the second set as Bozak and Macha each found the floor for kills to early to keep the Wildcats from going on a run. Jessie Camarillo capped off a 3-point swing for Chico State with an ace as they took an 8-4 lead, but Ella Heckman had back-to-back kills to trim the Penguin deficit to two. The teams continued to trade small runs and sideouts until Wentzel sparked a 3-0 run for the Wildcats with a pair of kills that lifted the lead to 20-15. The teams traded points for the rest of the way as Chico State took the 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Macha served up an ace and Lauren Wiley found the floor for a kill to get Dominican off to a 4-2 lead in the third set, but Chico State responded with a 7-0 run to take a five point advantage. Dominican fought back chipping away at the lead until Macha found the floor twice, Rivers served up an ace and Bozak paired with Wiley for a block to cap a 6-1 run that put the Penguins in front 14-13. The Wildcats answered with a 7-point run powered by two kills and an ace from Wentzel to take the 20-14 lead and they held on from there to secure the sweep.
 
Dominican will return to action Saturday for a pair of matches at Fitzpatrick Arena beginning with UC Merced at 11:30 a.m. before closing out its day against Stanislaus State at 7 p.m.