LA JOLLA, Calif. – The beauty of athletics is such that no result is ever a certainty. This was proven Tuesday as the Cal Poly Pomona volleyball team topped the UC San Diego Tritons in five sets after dropping the first two sets 25-15 and 25-16.
The win once again moved the Green and Gold into a tie for second-place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). CPP now sits with a 10-6 overall record, complete with a 6-2 mark in conference play. The CCAA record pulls the Broncos even with SoCal rivals, the nationally-ranked Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes.
Four members of the Green and Gold squad posted double-digit kills in the match.
Deanna Blaine led the team as she posted a double-double on the night, recording both a team-high 14 kills and a team-leading 20 digs.
Just behind Blaine was three CPP members with 12 kills apiece.
Alexa Hasen led the team with a stellar .545 attack percentage as her 12-for-22 performance earned her the match-lead in the category. Also with 12 kills were
Kristen Hamlin and
Nicoletta Stork.
CPP's squad was ripe with numerous excellent performances on the evening as Stork and
Alina Smith both posted double-digit assists, with 26 and 27, respectively.
To nicely compliment the ferocious offensive power of the Broncos, fans were able to witness a true defensive showing as three members of CPP's squad posted double-digit digs as well. Blaine, with the lead, had her 20, following her was
Zoe Herrera with 18 of her own, and a few digs back of her was
Lauren Miller with 13 digs to her name.
The first two sets in the match showed a slow-to-start CPP squad. To kick things off in La Jolla, the hometown Tritons jumped to an early 10-2 lead in the first set. A couple more points for the Broncos paired with a few more for UCSD would soon have the scoreboard reading 16-5 in the home team's favor. The rest of the match showed relatively even scoring, but with the discrepancy in points, the Broncos were unable to come back and dropped the set 25-15.
Set number two, at the dismay of the CPP squad, began much the same way as the first set, with the Tritons rocketing ahead 11-2. An attempt was made by the Broncos' offense to come back, but try as they might, the closest they would come was still six points back. The second set went to the Tritons 25-16.
Then CPP found its groove.
The third set began with a 3-0 Triton lead, but the Green and Gold pushed back and evened things at 4-4. The Broncos then jumped to their first lead of the match, leading 7-4. From there it was anybody's game. The two teams traded points and the lead. When it came down to the final points of the set, the score was tied at 25-25. Back-to-back kills by Stork gave the Green and Gold its first winning set with a 27-25 score.
Set number four came and with it was a renewed vigor for both the SoCal teams. The scoreboard saw 10 score ties in the first 11 points. If one team scored, the opposition was sure to score next. From that moment, the Green and Gold went on a 7-1 tear to gain a six-point advantage. The Tritons would get a few more points to contend with CPP, but the Broncos wouldn't allow them to pull even. A four-point lead for the Broncos was what the set's final score showed. CPP won 25-21.
The fifth and final set, which is only played to 15 points went to the Broncos as well. Both teams played evenly through the first five points. CPP then produced four-straight points to lead 9-5. Five of the Broncos' final six points were recorded with Green and Gold kills. Hasen led off with a kill to put CPP up 10-6. Stork was next, then a couple Triton points and a hometown attack error.
Earning the final points on the set for CPP were Stork, Blaine, and Hamlin as each of their attacks fell in and gave the Broncos the set 15-12.
The loss dropped the Tritons to an even 4-4 in conference play and an overall 8-8 on the season.
CPP will resume play with an Oct. 9, 7 p.m. match against the Chico State Wildcats. The next day, Saturday, the Green and Gold will challenge the Stanislaus State Warriors in Turlock at 7 p.m.
