POMONA – A record-setting offensive season continued for the 22nd-ranked Cal Poly Pomona volleyball team on Saturday night, as the Broncos cruised to a sweep of visiting Cal State Monterey Bay 25-13, 25-18, 25-13, inside Kellogg Arena.
The Broncos are now 14-1 overall and 7-1 in California Collegiate Athletic Association play, keeping pace with their next opponent, Cal State San Bernardino, one match back in the CCAA standings.
In a season of high hitting percentages, in which Cal Poly Pomona ranks fifth nationally in NCAA Division II and has had a percentage of .450 or better now on four occasions, the Broncos' efficiency of .537 on Saturday shattered the previous school record of .506, set in 1984 against Cal State Northridge. The previous top hitting percentage in the 25-point scoring format, which began in 2008, had been .488 against Cal State Dominguez Hills during the 2008 season.
Cal Poly Pomona's offensive started hot and got even better as the match went on. The Broncos hit an impressive .412 in the opening set, totaling 10 kills, only to outdo themselves in the second and third sets with percentages of .500 and .655, respectively. They scored 20 of their 25 points in the final set on kills, committing just one error in 29 attempts in that frame.
The Broncos led from start-to-finish in the first set and did not trail after breaking a 2-2 tie in the second set of an eventual seven-point win – the closest cushion of the night for the hosts. There were four ties and two lead changes in the third set, but Cal Poly Pomona erased its final deficit of the night at 5-4 with consecutive points and ultimately used an 8-0 run to turn a close score into a decisive advantage at 16-7.
Senior
Kira Zimmerman had another superb match distributing sets, dishing out 43 assists to seven different hitters in the three-set affair. Sophomores
Daisy Duke and
Jazmyn Wheeler, who hit .611 and .478, respectively, finished with 12 kills each, while senior
Ruki Kennedy added eight kills and a .583 percentage, and sophomore
Jazminn Parrish added seven kills on a .462 clip. Freshman
Madison Novak chipped in five kills (and a .571 percentage) in just her second action of the season, playing the third set.
The Broncos also finished with seven service aces, with Parrish and Wheeler finishing with three each. They did not give up an ace to the Otters, nor did they hit into any successful blocks, while Cal Poly Pomona registered six team blocks and had a 42-26 edge in digs. Senior
Brynn Sherbert led all players with 15 digs for the Broncos.
Abby Knapp turned in a team-best 10 kills and .588 hitting percentage for Cal State Monterey Bay, which fell to 7-5 overall.
Cal Poly Pomona will next turn its attention to a home-and-home series with Cal State San Bernardino next week. The Broncos host the Coyotes (13-3, 8-0 CCAA) on Wednesday night (Oct. 13) at Kellogg Arena before visiting San Bernardino next Saturday (Oct. 16).
