By Gavin Claiborne, Sept. 17, 2024
Cal Poly Pomona women’s volleyball outside hitter Sarah Ybarra and setter Caitie Mueller were named to the 2024 Yotes Classic Showcase All-Tournament team after an undefeated weekend by the Broncos.
The No. 21-ranked Broncos defeated three higher ranked teams, according to the ranking established by the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s preseason poll.
CPP faced No. 10 St. Cloud State University and the reigning AVCA Division II player of the year Kenzie Foley in their first matchup of the tournament.
Senior libero Avery Percival ensured the team wasn’t deterred by the higher-ranked teams the Broncos would face going into the weekend.
“We know we’re a good team, and we know we’re capable of beating any other team that we put our minds to,” said Percival. “When we bring our best game, rankings don’t matter. It’s just a number.”
The Broncos defeated the Huskies 3-0, led offensively by senior outside hitter Madison Novak with 16 kills, and the outside hitter duo of sophomore Ybarra and senior Samantha Campion combined for 20 kills on the night.
Senior setter Mueller collected 29 assists for a .283 team hitting percentage to St. Cloud State’s .241.
After losing to the No.12-ranked Chaminade University Silverswords in the past two seasons, the Broncos pulled off a 3-1 win in their second game of the tournament.
Percival said the victory was “fulfilling,” but the team viewed Chaminade as just another opponent on the schedule.
“We had the skill to beat them, we just finally were able to pull that out and have the confidence to do it, and it felt really good,” said Percival.
Ybarra put up a career-high 21 kills against the Silverswords, along with 2 aces and 5 blocks. Campion and Novak tied for second-most kills on the team with nine each.
“I just go out there and hit the ball hard,” said Ybarra. “I don’t want to take my foot off the gas pedal, I just want to keep making teams work hard. They have to work in order to beat us.”
The Silverswords rallied back in the third to edge out CPP 25-23 after losing the first two sets 25-23 and 25-18, pushing the match to a fourth set.
“Starting to lose that set began to take over, and we were kind of reverting to how we felt when we lost the other two matches,” said Percival. “But the big difference that made us grow as a team was the fact that we were able to get up and get out of that and have a comeback… and I think that shows a lot about us as a team. Just never giving up, letting that go and continuing to fight no matter what.”
The Broncos’ victory against the Silverswords marked the program’s 800th win in its 44-season history, giving them an all-time-best winning percentage of .596 and an 800-543 win-loss record.
“800 program wins is a tremendous accomplishment and a fabulous program achievement,” said head coach Traci Dahl, according to an article published by Bronco Athletics. “This is a milestone that all of our current and former volleyball players at CPP can celebrate.”
In the third game of the tournament, the Broncos took down No. 19-ranked Seattle Pacific University in four sets, 3-1. Ybarra had a near-double-double performance, contributing 16 kills, 9 digs and an ace. Campion played a key role offensively, adding 11 kills and an ace.
The Broncos topped off the final game of the weekend with a 3-0 win against Biola University. Mueller’s 39 assists against the Falcon increased her total to 2,239 career assists, marking the eighth most assists in program history.
Ybarra recorded 16 kills for her fourth-consecutive match in double-digit kills, totaling 65 at a .313 hitting percentage, with 30 digs and 15 blocks on the weekend to be named to the Yotes Classic Showcase All-Tournament Team.
Mueller averaged 9.57 assists and 2.29 digs per set to earn All-Tournament and MVP honors.
The two student-athletes were recognized by the California Collegiate Athletic Association for their performances in the opening weekend. Ybarra took home her first CCAA Offensive Player of the Week and Mueller earned her seventh career CCAA Setter of the Week.
Ybarra earned national recognition as the AVCA Division II Player of the Week, only the second time in program history that a Bronco earned the award.
“With Sarah, having her hit out of the back row, that’s adding to her total attempts and her kills,” Dahl said. “And Caitie, I think she moved the ball around quite nicely this weekend.”
The Broncos’ 4-0 weekend marked the fourth time in program history that CPP has beaten three-consecutive ranked opponents.
“For us to come out against a top 10, top 15 opponent and come out as strong as we did was impressive,” said Dahl. “I thought we played as a unit, and we looked really sharp this early in the season.”
CPP received the program’s highest ranking since 2005 in the AVCA polls earlier this week at No. 10 heading into the Central Washington Tournament Sept. 12-14.
Feature photo courtesy of Shayden Hoopai-Waikoloa