POMONA, Calif. – The No. 23 ranked Cal Poly Pomona volleyball team delivered their biggest comeback win of the season on Saturday afternoon, storming back from a two-set deficit to defeat Cal State East Bay three sets to two (20-25, 16-25, 25-12, 25-21, 15-11).
 
The victory not only preserved the Broncos' perfect conference record at 16-0, but also showcased one of the more remarkable individual performances in program history, as redshirt freshman Elle Walker recorded a career-high 34 kills. Had Walker given this performance a mere 29 days ago, it would've broken the school record for most kills in a match. However, thanks to Sarah Ybarra's 45-kill game, also against Cal State East Bay back on October 11th, Walker's impressive afternoon will instead go down as the second-most kills in a match in school history.
 
After dropping the opening two sets, the Broncos regrouped behind steady serving and improved efficiency at the net. Walker ignited the turnaround with a dominant third set, hammering down 14 kills on .355 hitting to spearhead a 25-12 rout. Her relentless attack stretched the Pioneer defense and set the tone for the remainder of the match.
 
Cal Poly Pomona continued its surge in the fourth, erasing multiple deficits behind the setting precision of Kacie Caoili, who finished with 55 assists and a .377 setting percentage. Junior Charlotte Koerber added 20 kills of her own, including six in the fourth frame, as the Broncos evened the match with a 25-21 win.
 
The fifth set proved to be a fitting finale. After falling behind 3-0 early, the Green & Gold rallied behind kills from Walker and Koerber, then held off a late East Bay push behind clutch serving from Hanna Schneider, who delivered back-to-back aces to push the lead to 11-8. Freshman setter Caoili sealed the win with the final kill of the night, finalizing the come-from-behind win.
 
Defensively, three different Broncos logged 20 or more digs in Caoili, Koerber, and senior libero Kaden Young. Additionally, Alexia Athans chipped in eight kills and two blocks on .313 hitting. As a team, the Broncos registered 71 kills to East Bay's 37, while also logging a season-high 110 digs.
 
The win improves Cal Poly Pomona to 18-4 overall and 16-0 in CCAA play, while East Bay falls to 13-11 (10-6 CCAA).
 
 
Up Next
The Broncos are just two wins away from history, as they look to become the first team since Cal State San Bernardino in 2021 to go a perfect 18-0 in conference play. Their final two hurdles will be Cal State Dominguez Hills and Stanislaus State this coming Thursday and Saturday, both matches taking place at home in Kellogg Arena.
 
 
Bronco Bits

• The Broncos are now 25-6 all-time against Cal State East Bay dating back to 1983, including 20-6 in CCAA play. They are in the middle of their longest winning streak against the Pioneers at 17 straight matches since 2014.
• Traci Dahl is now 120-43 (.736) as head coach of the Broncos, including 81-24 (.771) in CCAA play.
• Now in its 45th season, CPP Volleyball is 841-551 (.604) all-time with a 428-305 (.584) record in CCAA matches.
• Cal Poly Pomona is an impressive 75-13 (.852) in CCAA matches since the start of the 2021 season. They are an incredible 33-1 in such matches since the start of the 2024 season.
• Since the start of CCAA play, CPP has won 48 of the 60 sets they've played in, resulting in eight sweeps.
• The only other time CPP was 18-4 to start the season was 1990.
• The Broncos remain undefeated at home with a 7-0 record this season. They have won 18 consecutive regular season matches at home since October 21, 2023.
• The Broncos' 16-match winning streak is the third-longest in program history. It is currently the sixth-longest active streak in NCAA Division II.
• CPP looks to become the 11th team in CCAA volleyball history to go undefeated in conference play. Since the conference's expansion to 12 schools in 1998, only five teams have held a perfect record through conference play.