POMONA – In one of their most complete games of the season, the Cal Poly Pomona volleyball team downed 23rd-ranked Cal State San Bernardino in four sets, winning 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 20-25, and 25-19) on Wednesday at Kellogg Arena.
The Broncos (7-8, 3-4 CCAA) tallied six aces on the night, finished with 11 blocks and combined for a team hitting percentage of .201 in the match.
The Coyotes, who jumped up two spots in the latest AVCA Volleyball Coaches Poll to No. 23, were held to a hitting percentage of .156, their third lowest percentage of the year.
Down 7-3 in the opening set, the Broncos rallied to tie the match at 8-8 before taking their first lead of the night at 10-9. Tied 19-19, the Broncos scored six of the last eight points in the set to jump out to an early lead over CSUSB.
Alexandra Gresham led the attack for CPP tallying 18 kills on 42 attempts for a match-best .381 hitting percentage. She also tallied seven total blocks and two aces.
Behind her was
Jenna Goldsberry who tied her career high from a week ago with 16 kills while
Andrea Bosnic finished with 11 kills and a match-high 23 digs.
The second set remained extremely close for both teams as they traded points to a 16-15 lead for the Coyotes. CPP broke away from the visitors using an 8-1 run to seal the 2-0 lead in sets.
Alina Smith tied a career-high 50 assists as she orchestrated the Broncos attack throughout the night. She added 10 digs and two aces on the night.
After dropping the third set 25-20, the Broncos showed resilience as they bounced back, scoring the first five points of what would be the final set of the night. After the Coyotes battled back, CPP broke a 13-13 tie with six straight points before a final kill by Bosnic gave the Broncos the win.
The Broncos finished with 89 digs overall as
Samantha Figueroa collected 16 digs while
Chloe Fields-Owens and
Alexandria Bollier each tallied 13 digs.
The win marks the first over CSUSB since the 2014 season where the Broncos beat the then ranked No. 8 Coyotes in five sets on the road before earning the season sweep at home.
The Broncos continue conference play this weekend as they travel to Cal State Los Angeles on Friday, Oct. 6 and Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday, Oct. 7. Both matches are set for 7 p.m.
