ARCATA, Calif. — After sputtering down the stretch in the opening set, Humboldt State volleyball powered past Chico State in the next three sets for a 3-1 Saturday night victory.
 
The Lumberjacks' (7-3/4-2 California Collegiate Athletic Association) win snaps an eight-match losing streak to the rival Wildcats (5-5/3-3 CCAA) in Lumberjack Arena. HSU's last home series victory came eight years ago on Oct. 21, 2006, in a 3-2 final. The Jacks' win is also the first win in the past five meetings.
 
Along with the Thursday night win over Cal State Stanislaus, HSU registered its first CCAA week sweep in six years. The Jacks' last CCAA perfect week came in 2008 when they did it two times.
 
"The girls are coming along and they keep getting better. They are focused and always are prepared both mentally and physically," said HSU Head Coach Kelly Wood. "You can feel walking their intensity walking into the pregame meeting. These girls are very motivated and want to win and get better each night."
 
The Jacks pulled off the four-set win with what has become a balanced attack. The home team had all six hitters with at least 23 swings and no player with more than 34 of the 167 attempted.
 
Nicole Bewley continued her play in the middle with 14 kills on 27 attacks and two errors for a .444 hit percentage. The junior also posted six block assists, three digs and two aces.
 
Symone Hayden, Alex Hasenstab and Ashley Owen chipped in 12, 10 and nine kills apiece, respectively.
 
Kaitlyn Dunaway produced 17 digs, eight kills, two aces and two block assists in an all-around night. Kat Rifilato had her own top night with 27 assists, six digs, eight kills and two block assists.
 
Libero Haley Biles led the squad's defense with 25 digs, while setter Erin Mitchell guided the offense with 28 assists.
 
In the opening set, Chico State went on a 9-4 spurt to pull ahead by five points, 18-13. The Jacks battled back to tie, 22-22, minutes later. The two teams would have five more ties, before the Wildcats put two-straight points on the board, 29-27.
 
"Again, we were a bit shaky in the first set and made some mistakes down the stretch," said Wood. "We settled down and we were able to get off to good starts the other three sets and maintained our poise and attack the rest of the match."
 
The first good HSU start came in the second set. The Jacks netted 11 of the first 15 points to lead, 11-4 behind a pair of Hayden kills. Chico State could get no closer than three points the rest of the way, before HSU took away the 25-20 final.
 
The Jacks built a 10-5 third set and 13-8 fourth set early leads. The home club finished both sets by the same 25-18 scores to close out the match.
 
HSU will have a shorter week leading up to one of its toughest of the season. The Jacks have three home matches starting on Wednesday night against No. 9 and defending CCAA champion Cal State San Bernardino. HSU completes the week with a Thursday contest versus No. 19 UC San Diego and a Saturday match against Cal Poly Pomona. All three matches start at 7 p.m.
 
"We have to rest up for a big week against three very tough CCAA opponents," finished Wood.