SAN BERNARDINO – Nineteenth-ranked Cal Poly Pomona continued its season-long volleyball theme – a potent and efficient offense – in cruising to a 25-17, 25-21, 25-20 victory over San Francisco State in the semifinals of the California Collegiate Athletic Association Volleyball Championship on Friday night at Coussoulis Arena.
 
The Broncos, seeded second in the CCAA Tournament and now 23-3 on the season with their ninth consecutive victory, picked up the program's first postseason win since the 2018 NCAA Division II West Region quarterfinals and advance to Saturday night's conference championship match between the winner of tonight's Cal State LA-Cal State San Bernardino contest (a match in progress at press time).

CLICK HERE to watch the postgame press conference with head coach Traci Dahl and seniors Kira Zimmerman and Brynn Sherbert.
 
The sophomore quartet of Jazmyn Wheeler, Jazminn Parrish, Daisy Duke, and Kaitlan Tucker spearheaded Cal Poly Pomona's offensive prowess on Friday, combining for 37 of the Broncos' 45 kills in the match. The Broncos, who entered the week ranking fourth nationally in NCAA Division II in hitting percentage at .288, improved upon that mark against the Gators with a .313 clip. Tucker (.368), Duke (.350), and Parrish (.304) all hit better than .300 in the match, as did seniors Kira Zimmerman (.400, two kills in five attempts) and Ruki Kennedy (.400, five kills and one error in 10 attempts).
 
The first set between the Broncos and Gators was the most lopsided in terms of the final score but was the closest in terms of a back-and-forth battle. The two teams exchanged seven ties in the frame, including as late as 14-14, with Cal Poly Pomona actually overcoming a 14-12 deficit. The Broncos reeled off four straight tallies to turn that deficit into a two-point lead, and then utilized a 7-0 spurt with three kills and a service ace to establish set point. After SF State broke the Broncos' serve on the first set point, Duke finished off the set with her fourth kill of the night.
 
Cal Poly Pomona did not trail the rest of the match against the third-seeded Gators. The Broncos built a sizeable lead in the second set, jumping ahead 22-13 before seeing SF State close the game to as close as 23-21. However, a kill by Wheeler and a solo block by Duke finished off the set with Cal Poly Pomona taking a 25-21 decision.
 
The Broncos spent most of the final set with a lead of at least four, aided by a 7-1 run to start the frame. SF State made it a three-point margin twice at 13-10 and 14-11, but a quick four-point scoring run extended the lead back to seven for Cal Poly Pomona. The teams traded a pair of three-point runs late in the set before Parrish closed things out with her team-leading 11th kill on the final play of the night.
 
Wheeler and Parrish had 11 and 10 kills, respectively, complementing their offensive nights with nine digs apiece. Tucker (five total blocks) and Duke (three blocks) were forces defensively at the net, while Zimmerman led all players with three aces, 36 assists, and 13 digs. Cal Poly Pomona had a statistical advantage over the Gators in every team category.
 
Izzy Issak led SF State with a match-high 13 kills, while Jessica Haynie added 10 and Trinity Barr nine for the Gators (22-5).
 
Cal Poly Pomona, which is ranked fifth in the most recent NCAA Division II regional rankings, will look to secure the conference's automatic berth to the national tournament on Saturday in the conference championship. To do so, the Broncos will have to take down a team that has handed them at least one of their three losses this season. Cal Poly Pomona split its regular-season series with Cal State LA, while falling twice in a four-day span in its two meetings with Cal State San Bernardino.