ARCATA, Calif. – The nationally-ranked Cal Poly Pomona volleyball team kicked off the first-ever Cal Poly Clash match in exciting fashion, claiming their seventh straight victory to improve to 11-1 on the season and 5-0 in conference. Their 3-1 win over Cal Poly Humboldt on Thursday night marked their ninth-straight win against the Lumberjacks.
 
The Broncos were all over the floor on defense, recording 93 digs with four players in double digits. Cal Poly Humboldt also logged a season-high defensively with exactly 93 digs as well. The Broncos' strong defensive performance was the most in a match since recording 103 at Cal State East Bay early last season.
 
Both Avery Percival and Sarah Ybarra set season-highs in digs with 22 and 24, respectively, while Percival is now just seven digs away from becoming the ninth Bronco to record 1,000 digs in her CPP career. Sophomore Charlotte Koerber had just nine digs on the season entering Thursday's match, before delivering a 15-dig performance against the Lumberjacks. The Munich, Germany native also contributed nine kills – a season high.
 
Senior outside hitter Samantha Campion tied a career-high with 21 kills, while Ybarra was close behind with 18. The two currently lead CPP in kills on the season. Over 85 percent of the Green & Gold's assists this season have come from senior setter Caitie Mueller, who logged 48 more on Thursday night for her second-most of the season.
 
Alexia Athans led the Broncos at the net with three blocks and eight kills. Her .364 hitting percentage on the season leads the team and ranks second in the entire CCAA among qualified players.
 
After dropping the first set 26-24, the Broncos rebounded with wins in the second and third by scores of 25-18 and 25-20.
 
Then came the fourth set. Pomona fell behind early, seeing Humboldt take each of the first six points. The Broncos later responded with six straight of their own, highlighted by four consecutive kills coming from Campion. The two Cal Poly's would then trade points, neither taking more than a three-point lead until CPP pulled ahead 21-16. With CPP just one point away from closing the match, a kill and back-to-back blocks by Humboldt would give the Lumberjacks a late lead at 25-24.
 
Neither team would be able to put away the set, seeing the score come even five more times, the last happening at 29-29. Finally, back-to-back kills by Koerber and Campion would seal the win, establishing Pomona as the victor in the inaugural Cal Poly Clash match.
 
 
Up Next
The No. 7 Broncos will travel to Sonoma State (6-5) for a match this Saturday, October 5^th, at 1:00 PM. CPP is 6-4 in their past 10 matches against the Seawolves, and ended SSU's 2023 campaign in the CCAA Tournament last November.
 
 
Bronco Bits

• The Broncos are now 34-4 (.895) all-time against the Lumberjacks, including nine straight wins dating back to 2017.
• Traci Dahl is now 88-36 (.709) as head coach of the Broncos with a 53-23 (.697) record in conference.
• For the past four consecutive seasons, CPP has owned an 11-1 record through their first 12 matches. Yes, since 2021, the Broncos are a combined 44-4 through their first 12 matches.
• Avery Percival is seven digs away from 1,000 in her CPP career.
• The Broncos' seven-game winning streak is the longest in the CCAA, second-longest in the west region, and the eighth-longest in the nation.
• Cal Poly Pomona now leads the Cal Poly Clash 1-0. Points will be assigned based on season head-to-head records, meaning if the Broncos win the match on November 2^nd, they will earn the full point toward the rivalry.