La.-Monroe
Mustangs Outlast Louisiana Monroe in Five Sets
9/20/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
TEMPE, AZ – The Cal Poly volleyball team won the first two sets decisively, but had to battle and win the fifth set to defeat the Univ. of Louisiana Monroe, 3-2, in the Mustangs second match of the Arizona State Marriott Invitational in the morning session on Saturday. With the win the Mustangs improve to 5-7 overall while ULM falls to 4-11.
Tournament play continues Saturday evening when the Mustangs take on Alabama State at 5 pm.
Senior outside hitter Chelsea Hardin tallied a career-high 19 kills on 35 swings while sophomore Hannah Schleis added 16 kills. True freshman middle blocker Taylor Gruenewald continued her impressive play with 15 kills. Senior Steffi Sooter led the team with 24 digs with sophomore Nicole Kessler adding 18. Senior Megan McConnell had 13 digs. Gruenewald had five total blocks and Schleis added three solo blocks.
Cal Poly hit .224 for the match while limiting ULM to a .132 hitting percentage. The Mustangs held a 62-47 advantage in digs and 7-5 edge in aces, but it was at the net the Mustangs dominated, outblocking ULM, 13-4.
Cal Poly broke open the first set on a kill by Gruenewald to give the Mustangs a 6-3 advantage, and maintained the margin (9-6) on a kill by Hardin. Cal Poly made it a 10 point lead (18-8) on an assisted block by McConnell and Gruenewald. The Mustangs finished out a dominating first set win, 25-14. Gruenewald had five kills to pace the Mustangs.
The second set opened where the first ended, with Gruenewlad recording a kill for a 4-1 Cal Poly lead. A kill by Hardin gave the Mustangs an 11-7 lead forcing a ULM timeout. The Mustangs built a 15-8 advantage on a service ace by Sooter. Cal Poly would go on to close out the second set, 25-15.
In the third set, ULM gained a two point advantage, 6-4, early in the set with the Mustangs calling a timeout. The Mustangs eventually tied up the set, 12-12, on a kill by McConnell and an attack error by ULM. The teams traded points until ULM gained a two point advantage, 19-17. Cal Poly would battle back and tie the set, 20-20, and after going down two again, the Mustangs would fight back to tie it up again at 22-22. But ULM to finish off the set, 25-23 to force a fourth set.
In the fourth set ULM gained an early three point lead, 5-2. The Mustangs would tie it up, 6-6, on a kill by Schleis and an attack error by ULM. After a brief Cal Poly lead on a Hardin kill, ULM would retake the lead, 9-8. Cal Poly would score three straight points to hold a 13-12 lead on kills by Hardin, Gruenewald and McConnell and Mustangs gained a two point advantage, 16-14, on a kill by Schleis. Out of a timeout, ULM tied the set at 16-16, and took an 18-16 lead on a 4-0 run. ULM would go on to finish the set, 25-19, and force a deciding fifth set.
The Mustangs opened the fifth set on a kill by Hardin, but the teams traded points until Cal Poly edged out to a 4-2 lead on a Gruenewald kill and expanded the lead to 7-3 on a Schleis kill and attack error by ULM, forcing a timeout. ULM called its second timeout when the Mustangs upped the led to six (9-3) on a solo block by Schleis. A kill by Hardin put Cal Poly up 13-6 and the Mustangs closed out the set and the match on another kill by Hardin.
