POMONA, Calif. – With a trip to America's Last Frontier, the Cal Poly Pomona volleyball team will begin its 2015 season in the five-team 10-match SpringHill Suites Invitational. The tournament is hosted by Alaska Anchorage and will take place in the newly built Alaska Airlines Center.
The Broncos will first take on No. 23 nationally-ranked Rockhurst on Friday with a 10 a.m. Pacific (9 a.m. Alaska) start time. The Hawks and the Broncos have never before faced each other in competition.
CPP's second contest will feature the Green and Gold and local rivals, the Azusa Pacific Cougars. It has been a few years since the two last went head-to-head, but back in 2012, the Broncos did emerge the victor, clinching the win 3-0. The all-time series between the two stands in favor of the CPP squad 4-0. That second match for the Green and Gold will take place on Friday at 5 p.m. Pacific (4 p.m. Alaska).
The third match in the tournament for CPP will take place on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Pacific (11:30 a.m. Alaska) and will be against No. 5 nationally ranked Nebraska Kearney. In each of the two past meetings, the Lopers came away with the win. Looking back to the 2008 season you'll see the last meeting of the two and a long match in which UNK bested the Broncos in five sets.
Fourth and finally, the Broncos will play visitor to the host school UAA on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. Pacific (7:30 Alaska). It has only been a couple years since the tournament's two teams wearing Green and Gold last met. In 2013, the Seawolves won in five sets, but that has remained the lone loss the Broncos have suffered to them. All-time, CPP holds a distinct edge, winning eight-of-nine contests.
During last season, the Broncos overall record was 15-10 including a 13-9 stance in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). CPP did lose four seniors at the culmination of last season, but will see the return of nine members of last year's squad. Also making their debut season in Green and Gold will be five newcomers.
Making their returns are
Alexa Hasen,
Nicoletta Stork, and
Deanna Blaine. Stork and Blaine were selected last season as members of the All-CCAA Second Team, while Hasen earned an Honorable mention.
Blaine finished the season on top of the CPP board in kills, kills per set, point, and point per set. She also was second on squad in both service aces and digs. Stork was fifth on team in point kills and points, fourth in digs and blocks she also posted an offense leading 553 sets to add to her on-court prowess. Hasen led the Broncos in block assists while finishing close-second on total blocks.
After going 8-3 at Kellogg Arena last year, the Broncos will play their first home match of 2015 on Sept. 16 with a 7 p.m. contest against conference rival Cal State Dominguez Hills. For information about the parking situation at CPP for athletic events, view the
latest BroncoAthletics.com article.
To follow Bronco Volleyball on Twitter be sure to search for
@cppvb.
