POMONA – The 19th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona volleyball team finished its regular season the way it started – on an extensive win streak – as the Broncos wrapped up the campaign with a 2-16, 25-17, 25-16 win over visiting Chico State on Friday night at Kellogg Arena.
 
The Broncos ended the 2021 regular season with a pair of sweeps and head into the postseason in the midst of an eight-match win streak. Cal Poly Pomona, now 22-3 overall and second in the California Collegiate Athletic Association with a 15-3 league record, began the year with consecutive sweeps in early September and an 11-match win streak in the opening month.
 
In Friday's finale, the NCAA Division II West Region's seventh-ranked team started slow and finished strong in defeating the visiting Wildcats (9-16, 5-12) in straight sets. Cal Poly Pomona hit .161 in the first set, warmed to .348 in the second, and finished with 17 kills in 29 attempts with just two errors for a .517 percentage in the third set.
 
While the Broncos' offense sizzled, their defensive play at the net also shined in the final appearance of the year at home, where they finished 14-1 this season. Cal Poly Pomona cranked up its front-row defense with 12 total bocks, led by eight total blocks from sophomore Kaitlan Tucker and six assisted blocks from fellow second-year Daisy Duke.
 
Eight of the 12 Broncos to appear in the match had at least one kill, with no player reaching double figures. Sophomore Jazminn Parrish led the offensive balance with nine kills and a .389 hitting percentage, while Duke added seven kills and sophomore Jazmyn Wheeler logged six kills in 10 attempts for a team-best .600 efficiency.
 
Cal Poly Pomona faced just three tie scores and one lead change in Friday's finale. The Broncos led from start to finish in the first set, then overcame an early 6-2 deficit in the second set with a resounding 23-11 scoring run to take a 2-0 match lead. They then emerged from the match's final deadlock at 1-1 in the third set to complete the sweep.
 
Senior Brynn Sherbert fired four service aces to lead all players, and also led the Broncos with seven digs. Fellow senior Kira Zimmerman had four kills in as many attempts, adding 25 assists, two aces, and four digs.
 
Chico State had eight kills each from Lizzie Wilson and Makaela Keeve, with Keeve sharing team-leading honors in digs for the Wildcats with seven. She also had three blocks.
 
Cal Poly Pomona, which has secured the second seed and a quarterfinal bye in next week's CCAA tournament at San Bernardino, will return to action on Friday, Nov. 19, in the conference semifinals at Coussoulis Arena at a time to be determined.