By Christian Magdaleno, Oct. 15, 2024
Cal Poly Pomona women’s volleyball team defended its eight-game win streak in a thrilling matchup against Cal Poly Humboldt in the first-ever Cal Poly Clash Oct. 3 before defeating Sonoma State.
The No. 7 Broncos hit the road to face the Lumberjacks and the Seawolves, resulting in two consecutive four-set wins.
The Broncos struggled to find their footing early against the Lumberjacks, dropping the first set 26-24.
CPP regained the momentum to win the next two sets 25-18 and 25-20, hitting at an efficient .292 percentage while holding the Lumberjacks to .099.
“We were a little out of character that night,” said Head Coach Traci Dahl. “We started to settle down a bit, but there was never a moment to really breathe. It was neck-and-neck pretty much the whole match.”
The Lumberjacks capitalized on the Broncos’ unforced errors for a 11-4 advantage early in the fourth set.
Outside hitter Samantha Campion sparked the six-point run for CPP, registering four consecutive kills to cut the deficit to one at 11-10.
The Broncos remained in control of the match late in the set, outscoring the Lumberjacks 11-6 for a 21-16 advantage.
Cal Poly Humboldt team applied pressure on its defense with back-to-back blocks, fighting its way to earn a one-point lead at 25-24.
Both teams traded points to even the game at 29-29, while outside hitter Charlotte Koerber and Campion closed out the match with two consecutive kills for the Broncos’ fifth conference win this season.
“That is what playoffs are going to look like,” said Dahl. “Regionals and National Collegiate Athletics Association matches, they are going to be tight. It speaks volumes to the maturity of this team.”
Campion tied her career-high of 21 kills and right-side hitter Sarah Ybarra contributed 18 kills, carrying the Broncos’ offense with a combined 39 of CPP’s 65 total kills in the match.
The Broncos set a season-high of 93 digs with four student-athletes recording double-digit figures. Ybarra led the team with a career-high 24 digs and libero Avery Percival followed closely behind with a season-high 22 digs while Campion and Koerber contributed 15 respectively.
“They made a conscious decision to go for every ball, and we were playing as more of a team than I have ever seen,” said Dahl.
Setter Caitie Mueller recorded 48 assists in the match, putting her 11 assists away from reaching the seventh-most all-time in CPP history—currently held by Katie Colin (2,628).
This matchup marked the first head-to-head battle in the Cal Poly Clash, an inaugural matchup between Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly Humboldt.
The rivalry series is comprised of 10 sports between the two universities, and each sport is awarded one point to the winning team, with half points given in the event of a tie.
CPP will earn a point for women’s volleyball if it defeats Cal Poly Humboldt in the second match up later this season at Kellogg Arena Nov. 2.
At the end of spring competition, the school with the most points will be crowned the Cal Poly Clash Champion.
The win over the Lumberjacks set the tone for the second match against Sonoma State.
The Seawolves applied pressure on offense out of the gate, scoring seven consecutive kills early to prevail over the Broncos in the first set 25-23.
The Broncos responded with a 25-13 win in the next set, tripling their hitting percentage from the first set .118 to .393.
A six-point scoring run earned a two-set advantage for the Broncos, closing out the third set 25-15 with back-to-back kills by middle blocker Helen McMullin.
CPP reigned victorious over Sonoma State in the final set 25-15, outplaying its opponent on both sides of the ball. The Broncos registered 66 digs and 55 kills to the Seawolves 49 and 37.
Ybarra set a career-high 24 kills and 28 total points in the match, along with 12 digs and four aces.
Percival collected a match-high 15 digs to reach her 1,013th CPP career-dig, only the ninth student-athlete in program history to surpass the 1,000-dig-mark.
“It feels really good to be on a team where you can achieve things like that,” said Percival. “Without my teammates, nothing would be possible. I wouldn’t be able to get those digs if it wasn’t for our high level of play and our competition.”
The Broncos improved to 12-1 overall and 6-0 in CCAA play, extending their eight-game win streak to remain the only undefeated team in the conference. Their eight-game win streak is the longest in the CCAA and seventh-longest nationwide.
Feature image courtesy of William G MacNeil