CHICO – Head coach Sue Woodstra knew Friday night's game against No. 23-ranked Chico State would be fun going into the match—and fun it definitely was to upset the Wildcats. The Jacks pulled out a tight 3-2 win over the Wildcats, with three of the sets coming down to a close two-point margin (25-17, 27-25, 25-21, 25-23, 16-14).

BOX SCORE

Humboldt State picked up its second road victory of the year to improve to 6-10 overall and 3-9 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The loss—Chico State's first at home this season—snapped a six-match winning streak and dropped the Wildcats to 14-4 on the season and 9-3 in CCAA action.

"We wanted to start the second half of conference strong so it certainly was a good step forward," said Woodstra. "It was a really good team win."

Chico State took the first set 25-17, but the Jacks were able to rally in the tightly played second set. Neither team led more by than three points until Chico State went up 22-18. Humboldt State came from behind 24-22 to tie the score at 24-24. The Lumberjacks finally found the two-point lead at 27-25 to tie the match at one set a piece.

"I think we played very well," said Woodstra. "We minimized our errors and put into effect what we had practiced this week."

Humboldt State came from behind again in the third set after finding itself down four points with the Wildcats leading 14-10. Chico State went ahead briefly with the score at 18-17, but kills by Alexa Rosendale and Oceana Matsubu scored eight of the set's last 11 points to give the Lumberjacks the 25-21 win.

"Our hitting was good tonight," said Woodstra. "We know we can block and defend. We definitely cut down on our mistakes and hit .218 as a team."

Rosendale, Matsubu and Ashley Neale combined for a total of 49 kills on the night. Allison Drobish and Merry Ellen Ackema led the blocking game to round out the furious five with six and five blocks, respectively.

Chico State came out aggressive in the fourth set with Ellie Larronde providing a spark for the Wildcats. Humboldt State went on a 9-4 run to put the score at 23-22, but kills from Alex Shurtz and Jacqueline Johnson gave the Wildcats the victory, forcing a fifth and deciding set.

Humboldt State found itself trailing early in the fifth set and was able to tie the game at 7-7 before letting the Wildcats get within a match point at 14-11. A Wildcat error and kills from Rosendale and Neale tied the set once again, this time at 14-14. Two attacking mistakes from Chico State sealed the victory for HSU at 16-14.

The Lumberjacks continue on their road trip as they travel to Cal State Stanislaus to take on the Warriors Saturday at 7 p.m.