LOS ANGELES – Despite being outhit on offense by a wide margin, the No. 23-ranked Cal Poly Pomona volleyball team turned to its defense – and it came up big – en route to a thrilling five-set victory (30-28, 25-16, 17-25, 19-25, 15-13) over Cal State LA on Saturday afternoon at University Gym in Los Angeles.
 
The Broncos (12-1) have won 12 consecutive matches and now hold sole possession of first place in the CCAA standings with an undefeated 6-0 record in league play. The Golden Eagles, who were the only other undefeated team in conference action entering the day, fell to 10-4 overall and 5-1 in the CCAA.
 
In the two-hour, 13-minute affair, host Cal State LA produced 25 more kills on offense than Cal Poly Pomona did, holding a 74-49 margin in that category, but the Broncos tallied 16.0 blocks as a team to make up most of the offensive indifference. The Golden Eagles had six more service errors and three more ball handling errors than the Broncos to account for the rest.
 
In the end, Daisy Duke led all players with 20 kills and a .362 hitting percentage while Madison Novak chipped in with 15 kills and six assisted blocks. Samantha Campion was the only other CPP player with double-figure kills, posting 10 to go along with eight digs and five assisted blocks. Defensively, Kaitlan Tucker returned nine attacks back to the other side of the net, a new career-high, and Mackenzie Sullivan made a match-high 15 digs in the victory. Caitie Mueller handed out 35 assists and scored four of the 10 CPP service aces from the line.
 
Cal State LA looked to have the upper hand in the first set, pulling away late with a 20-16 lead, but Cal Poly Pomona rallied to tie the set at 21-21 and neither team would lead by more than two points until Campion smashed a kill at the end to give the visitors a stunning 30-28 win and the early match lead.
 
The momentum continued into a convincing 25-16 win in the second set for the Broncos to take a 2-0 match lead. The Golden Eagles rallied for convincing wins of their own in the third and fourth sets to force the deciding fifth set.
 
A total of 12 ties and two lead changes would highlight the final set, but in the end, the Broncos emerged with the hard-fought 15-13 win to extend their win streak to 12 matches.
 
Cal State LA had four players with double-digit kills, led by the 19 off the hand of Ayjah Landers.
 
Cal Poly Pomona returns home next weekend for a pair of matches, beginning with a Friday evening matchup with Cal State East Bay. First serve from Kellogg Arena is set for 5:00 pm.
 
Bronco Bits: Head coach Traci Dahl moves to 45-22 in her fourth year (third season) at Cal Poly Pomona, including 35-6 the last two seasons … The Broncos have opened their season with an 12-1 record through the first 13 matches for the third time in the last four seasons … It is the fourth time in program history that the Broncos have compiled a win streak of 12 or more matches; it has happened three times since the beginning of 2018 (a 12-match win streak in 2018, a 12-match win streak spanning the 2019 and 2021 seasons, and the current 12-match win streak, dating back to Aug. 26) … The longest win streak in program history came during the 2005 season, a 19-match win streak (from 8/26/05 to 10/15/05) … The 30 points needed to win the first set is the most scored by the Broncos to win a set since they also won 30-28 in the fourth set against Azusa Pacific on Nov. 15, 2018 in the opening round of the NCAA Division II West Regional Tournament in Bellingham, Wash. … Despite the win, the Broncos still trail the all-time series with Cal State LA, 41-50 … Daisy Duke has recorded double-digit kills in 33 career matches, including 10 this season … Kaitlan Tucker's nine block assists is tied with six others for the fifth-most in the program since NCAA volleyball went to its current 25-point scoring format in 2008 … Kaitlan Tucker entered the weekend as the No. 2 blocker in all of Division II … It is the fourth time in program history that the Broncos have gone 12-1 or better through the first 13 matches of a season … Ranked in the Top 25 this week at No. 23, CPP is now 273-163 as a nationally-ranked team since 1986 … As a program, CPP is now 764-530 all-time, including 234-204 in road matches and 374-295 in conference play since the program's inception in 1980 … The Broncos have now won 14 consecutive CCAA matches dating back to last season, the longest such streak in the conference currently … CPP is now 130-106 in five-set matches all-time, including victories in the last six CCAA matches that went to a deciding set.
 
All home matches and most away contests will stream live online via the CCAA Network at www.ccaanetwork.com. You may also download the CCAA Network app on your iOS or Android smartphone, tablet, or through web streaming devices such as Amazon Fire, Roku or Apple TV. For $9.95 per month, subscribers will have access to all CCAA broadcasts, both live and on-demand, for one low monthly price. Over half of each monthly subscription purchase will go directly back to the CCAA Athletic Department of your choice to support the student-athlete experience. Sign-ups are available right now at each universities' network portal. Just go to CCAAnetwork.com, select your favorite team at the top and the 'click to subscribe.'

Tickets are also on sale now for all CPP home matches. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets online prior to coming to campus at broncoathletics.com/tickets or by downloading the HomeTown Fan app on your smartphone or tablet. New this year, only debit and credit cards will be accepted at the box office for admission. Limited concession items will be on sale on-site as well, but the concession stand will only accept cash.

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