POMONA – Facing its only scheduled two-match day of the 2021 season, the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos volleyball team picked up two more wins on Friday, defeating visiting Northwest Nazarene University and Fresno Pacific University in SoCal Freeway Classic action at Kellogg Arena. The Broncos defeated NNU in four sets (25-27, 25-23, 25-16, 25-18) and FPU in three (25-23, 25-17, 25-23).
Sophomore
Jazmyn Wheeler combined for 30 kills, and sophomore
Daisy Duke added 26 in Friday's two matches, while senior setter
Kira Zimmerman totaled 75 assists and 31 digs in the two victories.
Cal Poly Pomona ran its season-opening win streak to six matches, marking the third time in school history that the Broncos have started a season at 6-0. The last such occurrence came was in 2005.
CAL POLY POMONA 3, NORTHWEST NAZARENE 1
Wheeler had 16 kills, nine digs, and three service aces, and the Broncos rebounded from their first opening-set loss of the season with three straight wins.
Cal Poly Pomona had three set points in the opening frame, including as late as 25-24, but three straight tallies by the Nighthawks (0-5) enabled the guests to take the early match lead. Wheeler had a fast start, compiling seven of her kills in 14 attempts, to fuel the Bronco attack, only to be outdone by an eight-kill frame from NNU's Natalie Sullivan.
The second set was also a nail-biter, with three set points as well, before freshman
Helen McMullin completed the Cal Poly Pomona victory with her third kill of the frame in the 25-23 win.
Sets three and four were more convincing victories for the Broncos, who led start-to-finish in the third for a 25-16 win, as Duke sparked the offense with eight kills and a .727 hitting percentage. The final frame was close in the early going with three lead changes and three ties, including as late as 9-9, but a 9-2 run gave Cal Poly Pomona some breathing room en route to the eventual 25-18 win.
Defense was a key part of Friday's opener for the Broncos, as they totaled 71 digs as a team and hit a season-low .222. Zimmerman and senior
Brynn Sherbert shared team-leading honors with 20 digs, with Zimmerman adding 39 assists and three aces. Duke (14 kills) and McMullin (10) combined with Wheeler for 40 of the team's 54 kills in the match.
Sullivan led Northwest Nazarene with 15 kills, and Caroline McMahon led all players with 22 digs.
CAL POLY POMONA 3, FRESNO PACIFIC 0
Wheeler added 14 more kills and 11 more digs, while Duke added 12 kills and sophomore
Jazminn Parrish netted eight kills and a match-high 19 digs as the Broncos swept Fresno Pacific 25-23, 25-17, 25-23.
Despite the sweep, the match was closely contested throughout. There were 21 total ties and 11 lead changes in the three sets, and the first and third sets went down to the wire before the Broncos emerged victorious. Cal Poly Pomona rallied from a 23-22 deficit in the first set with three straight tallies, capped by Duke's fifth kill of the match.
The Broncos used a 5-0 spurt late in the second set, keyed by three straight service aces by Zimmerman, to earn their most sizable set victory of the night. Cal Poly Pomona then survived 10 ties and six lead changes in the third, breaking a 23-all tie with consecutive kills by Parrish and Wheeler to complete the sweep.
The match was another defensive match-up, with the Broncos finishing with a 72-66 edge in digs and a 9-8 margin in blocks. Cal Poly Pomona hit .234 as a squad, while Fresno Pacific (2-6) hit .136. Each team had four players reach double digits in digs.
FPU was led by a 10-kill, 10-dig double-double from Corinne Acosta, while Makena Ogas had seven kills, eight digs, and seven blocks for the Sunbirds.
Cal Poly Pomona will venture away from home for the first time this season on Saturday, wrapping up the SoCal Freeway Challenge against Westminster College (Utah) at the Felix Event Center on the Azusa Pacific University campus at 5:30 p.m. The match against the Griffins will be the final non-conference tune-up for the Broncos before they open up California Collegiate Athletic Association play next week.
