By Melanie Arias, September 15, 2026
Cal Poly Pomona’s volleyball team swept the second day of the Bronco Classic, defeating Western Washington University’s Vikings 3-0 Sept. 4.
The Broncos, now 5-5 all-time against the Vikings, won their fifth pre-conference tournament match with the first set at 25-22, second at 25-19 and third at 25-17. Outside hitters Sarah Ybarra, Elle Walker and Charlotte Koerber dominated the Broncos’ offensive power, at 16, 15 and 13 kills respectively.
“Our team takes things one point at a time,” head coach Traci Dahl said. “Sometimes things can get overwhelming, so they process and think, ‘Let’s do better the next time.’”
Despite the Vikings pulling ahead by three points early in the first set, Walker cut off the Vikings kill streak and slammed two kills on the court, changing the momentum of the first set with Ybarra ultimately leading the team to take the lead, earning the first set.
Despite strong blocks shutting out Walker multiple times, Walker didn’t stop slamming her way through the Vikings blocks.
“From last year to now, I think during the first few games it was a quick lesson that it’s going to happen,” Walker said. “You kind of have to bounce back from it. It’s like, ‘OK, I got blocked, next ball.”
Walker earned three back-to-back kills against the Vikings in the second set, widening the gap between them 12-5 and shutting down any chance of the team pulling ahead. This allowed her to slam the final kill for the second set.
The Broncos increased their kills during the second set by five, though the Vikings increased the pressure of their own spikes. Yet, CPP’s defense proved strong with outside hitter and libero Renee Nachtigal responding with two diving digs, halting any progress.
Nachtigal also led the Broncos defense with 11 digs, and Ybarra followed close behind nine.
The Broncos also had 50 assists with setter Alexia Zammit contributing 34, Nachtigal had eight and Koerber had two, setting up the team’s top hitters for successful kills.
The last set was an offensive showdown between Walker, Ybarra and Koerber, with 14 combined kills. Still, it was a double block from Walker and middle blocker Hadassah Makama that earned the Broncos their final point, sealing their sweep.
Libero and defensive specialists Keira Limbrick and Rachel Mau were leading the cheers, running up and down the sidelines. As a result, the Bronco’s energy was high the whole game, with the team chanting, smiling and celebrating anytime a kill was made.
“We pride ourselves on voices and energy, whether they’re on or off the court,” Dahl said.
The Vikings, ranked 24 nationally in Division II preseason, had a total of 26 kills and 22 assists.
The Broncos finished off the Bronco Classic with a win against Simon Fraser 3-1, pulling the Broncos up to No. 17 in the AVCA Division II rankings and earning Ybarra the AVCA Division II national player of the week.
“We’re very confident in our play,” Ybarra said. “Not taking the competition across the net for granted and realizing that they deserve to be here just as much as we do, but we’re going to earn it.”
