MATCH STATS
- Cal Poly def. Riverside 3-1, (19-25, 25-13, 25-21, 25-17)
- Cal Poly moves to 25-2; Riverside drops to 9-17
- Riverside, California
- Attendance: 278
- Box Score
RIVERSIDE – Cal Poly defeated Riverside, giving the Mustangs their first outright Big West Conference Title since 2007, on Friday night in the SRC.
The Mustangs hit .317 on the night with 57 kills with help from senior setter, Taylor Nelson, with 46 assists. Riverside pounded 47 kills on a .136 clip at the aid of setter, Morgan Kline, with a career-high 32 assists. Cal Poly out-blocked the Highlanders 9-4.
Torrey Van Winden paced the Mustangs with 21 kills on a .474 clip and 14 digs for a double-double, while her sister, Adlee Van Winden, added 12 kills on a .297 clip. Mickayla Sherman led the offense for Riverside with 13 kills, hitting .132. Brooke Callahan also posted double-figure kills with 12 on a .333 clip.
Defensively, Cal Poly out-dug Riverside 65-63. Katherine Brouker, junior libero for the Mustangs, led Cal Poly in digs, with 19. Leading the back row for the Highlanders with 20 digs was libero, Nicole Rodriguez.
Both teams will continue with Big West play Saturday night as Cal Poly travels to Cal State Fullerton and the Highlanders host UCSB.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Cal Poly Athletics
RIVERSIDE— Behind a match-high 21 kills from sophomore outside hitter Torrey Van Winden, the Cal Poly volleyball team defeated UC Riverside in four sets Friday night (19-25, 25-13, 25-21, 25-17) to win its 20th straight match and officially win the Big West Conference title outright.
This is the first conference title for the No. 22 Mustangs (25-2, 15-0) since 2007.
On top of the 21 kills, Torrey Van Winden added 14 digs, all while hitting .474. Junior outside hitter Adlee Van Winden finished with 12 kills and senior outside hitter Raeann Greisen posted 10 kills, hitting .471. Senior setter Taylor Nelson finished with 46 assists and eight digs and junior libero Katherine Brouker had a team-high 19 digs.
The Highlanders (9-17, 1-13) started strong in the first set. They came out of the gates getting out to a 6-1 lead. Cal Poly would get it back to 9-7. Up 13-10, UC Riverside scored four straight points to take a 17-10 lead. A 9-3 run by the Mustangs would get it back to 20-19. That run would prove all-for-not as the Highlanders would then score five straight points to win the set 25-19.
Cal Poly would get back on track in the second set, getting out to a quick 12-5 lead and up 16-8 at one point. At one point they led 23-12, their largest lead of the set. They would go on to win the set 25-13. In the second set, the Mustangs hit
Cal Poly got out to another quick start to begin the third set, going up 9-3 at one point. The Highlanders would rally to get it back to 10-7. Down 16-11, UC Riverside went on a 7-3 run to cut the lead to 19-18. The Mustangs would score the next three points followed by two straight by UC Riverside. Up 24-21, an Adlee Van Winden service ace finished off the set for Cal Poly, 25-21.
The beginning of the fourth set saw the two teams trade points to start. Tied at 8, the Mustangs scored 12 straight points to go up 20-8 and would not look back from there. The Highlanders would make a late run but Cal Poly would go on to win the set 25-17 for its program record 20th straight win.
“I liked our response after the first set,” head coach Sam Crosson said. “Thought we settled down nicely and applied pressure from the service line and executed really well defensively.”
“It’s an awesome accomplishment for us as a team,” Crosson said of winning the conference title outright. “To continue the winning streak and to continue the offensive production we’ve been showing the last couple matches.”
The Mustangs will finish out regular season play Saturday at Cal State Fullerton. First serve is set for 7 p.m. They are looking to finish undefeated in conference play for the first time in program history. The last time a Big West team finished undefeated in conference play was Hawai’i in 2015.
Courtesy of UC Riverside Athletics
Riverside, CA—The UC Riverside Volleyball Team (9-17, 1-13) battled #22 Cal Poly (25-2, 15-0) Friday, but fell in four sets. The Highlanders dominated the first set, but were not able take the match from the undefeated Mustangs.
SET ONE (25-19, UCR)
Key Runs: The Highlanders scored six of the first seven points and led by as much as seven by 17-10. The Mustangs closed the deficit to one point at 20-19, but the Highlanders won the next five straight points to take the set.
SET TWO (25-13, CP)
Key Runs: Cal Poly scored six of the first eight points to take control of the set and tie the match, 1-1.
SET THREE (25-21, CP)
Key Runs: The Mustangs scored eight of the first ten points. The Highlanders battled to close the gap to one point, down 19-18, but were never able to take the lead.
SET THREE (25-17, CP)
Key Runs: UC Riverside led 8-7, but Cal Poly scored the next thirteen straight points and never trailed again.
GAME NOTES
Morgan Kline charted 32 assists, recording a new career best. Her previous career best was 21 assists at Cal State Northridge on November 11 (Recap).
Kline logged her second career assist-dig double-double (32 assists, 17 digs). Her first career assist-dig double-double was at Cal Poly on Sept 23 (Recap).
Mickayla Sherman led the Highlanders with 13 kills, followed by Brooke Callahan with 12.
Nicole Rodriguez led the Highlanders with 20 digs. Rodriguez has now logged double-digit digs in 22 of the season’s 26 matches.
Rodriguez also led the Highlanders with four aces, charting a new career best.
The last time the Highlanders won a set against Cal Poly was October 30, 2014 (Recap). The undefeated Big West Conference leader Cal Poly has only dropped seven sets to other conference teams this season.
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