BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- Kristen Hamlin fired 13 kills and tallied six blocks and
Andrea Bosnic chipped in with 12 kills and 17 digs, but the Cal Poly Pomona volleyball team saw their season come to an end with a 3-0 loss (25-22, 25-23, 26-24) to top-seed and No. 2-ranked Western Washington on Friday night in the 2018 NCAA Division II Volleyball West Region semifinals at Carver Gymnasium in Bellingham, Wash.
The Broncos finished with a 24-6 record, matching the most wins in a single season since 2005.
Not only was it the final collegiate match for five CPP seniors, but it was the final contest for head coach
Rosie Wegrich, who is set to retire next month after a 44-year NCAA coaching career. Wegrich, already an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Hall of Famer, finishes with an impressive 780-592-10 record, including a 451-333 mark in 27 seasons at Cal Poly Pomona.
Western Washington advances to Saturday's West Region final to face No. 2 seed and the top-ranked team in the nation, Cal State San Bernardino, which defeated Central Washington in four sets in the first regional semifinal on Friday evening in Bellingham.
In Friday's contest against the Vikings (27-3), each statistical category was nearly even; both teams had 47 kills and 19 errors on offense, and both teams had nine total team blocks. The Broncos held an edge in hitting percentage (.206-.201), assists (46-41) and digs (68-57) while the Vikings led in service aces (4-2) and points (60.0-58.0).
CPP never led in the first set despite forcing three ties, but WWU earned the 25-22 win to take the 1-0 match lead. The second set played a little tighter with nine ties and five lead changes, only to see Western Washington narrowly escape with the 25-23 win to take the 2-0 lead, but not without a fight by the Green and Gold. Cal Poly Pomona held a 19-18 lead in set number two until the Vikings reeled off six straight points to force set point. Just as the did a night before against Azusa Pacific, the Broncos rallied back with four straight points to come within a point at 24-23, but WWU prevailed with a kill for the 25th point.
The third and what proved to be the clinching set for the hosts was the closest game of the match with 17 ties and seven lead changes. Western jumped out to a 6-3 lead early, but CPP responded with four unanswered points to take a 7-6 lead, and from then on, no team would lead by more than two points the rest of the way. However, it was the Vikings to outlast the Broncos in front of their home crowd of 1,271 with the 26-24 win and the 3-0 victory.
Hamlin, Bosnic,
Jenna Goldsberry,
Desi Martin and
Alex Bollier all saw their collegiate playing careers come to an end Friday night, but not before leading the Broncos to one of the most successful seasons in school history.
