Mustangs Open Conference Season at Home with UCI and LBSU
9/24/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
First Serve:
Cal Poly opens its home season and Big West Conference play this week when the Mustangs host UC Irvine on Friday, Sept. 27 and Long Beach State on Saturday, Sept. 28. First serve for both matches are set for 7 pm.
Both matches will have live audio play-by-play with Dave Grant calling the action at GoPoly.com. Video and live state will also be available online at GoPoly.com
Cal Poly enters the week with a 6-7 overall record while UC Irvine enters 9-5 and Long Beach State 7-6.
Cal Poly posted a 2-2 record this past week, but was 2-1 at the Arizona State Marriott Invitational. The Mustangs picked up wins over Louisiana-Monroe and Alabama State while dropping matches to No. 8 Stanford and No. 18 Arizona State.
At the ASU tournament, senior Chelsea Hardin and true freshman Taylor Gruenewald earned all-tournament honors when they each averaged 3.17 kills in the three-match tournament. Hardin hit a blazing .438 while Gruenewald hit .316 while adding eight total blocks.
In the five set win over Louisiana-Monroe, Hardin led the team with a career-high 19 kills on 35 swings (.486) while sophomore Hannah Schleis added 16 kills with Gruenewald chipping in with 15 kills.
In the four set win over Alabama State, Gruenewald led the team with 17 kills with Schleis adding 12 and Hardin, 11 kills on 23 sings.
With her performance this past week, Hardin now leads the team with 2.96 kills per set while hitting .302.
A Quick Look at the Teams:
CP UCI LBSU
Record: 6-7 9-5 7-6
Kills: 12.41 12.96 12.85
Hitting %: .203 .228 .251
Digs: 13.65 15.91 12.62
Blocks: 1.66 2.55 2.66
Ser. Aces: 1.37 1.45 1.15
UC Irvine: The Anteaters enter the match 9-5 after opening the season with five straight wins. Aly Squires leads the team with 3.39 kills per set with Marisa Bubica adding 3.18. Shelley Anderson dishes out the assists (8.29) while Arden Davis averages 3.95 digs per set. UCI plays big at the net with Shannon Fleming and Arielle Manz averaging 1.20 and 1.11 blocks respectively. Cal Poly holds a 38-15 advantage in the all-time series.
Long Beach State: The 49ers entered the week 7-6 after winning five of its last seven matches. Delainey Aigner-Swesey leads the team with 3.57 kills per set while Alex Reid adds 3.11 kills. Erin Juley handles the setting duties (10.08) while Joy Miley plays big at the net with 1.28 blocks per set. Long Beach State holds a 35-16 advantage over Cal Poly in the all-time series.
ASU All-Tournament: True freshman Tayor Gruenewald and senior Chelsea Hardin earned all-tournament honors when they each tallied 38 kills in the three-set tournament... Gruenewald averaged 3.17 kills while hitting .318.. She added eight total kills... For Gruenwald it was her second all-tournament selection (Sacramento State Tournament) this season... Hardin averaged 3.17 kills while hitting .438... It was also her second all-tournament selection (Sacramento State Tournament)...
Doing it the Hard-in Way...: Senior outside hitter Chelsea Hardin now leads the team with 2.96 kills per set after her performance at the tournament this past weekend... She has tallied a team-high 145 kills on 341 swings (.302)...
McConnell's Way..: Senior outside hitter Megan McConnell sets the pace in the all-around game for the Mustangs... The senior is second on the team with 2.94 kills per set.. She has recorded 144 kills on 458 swings (.146)... But she also adds 2.61 digs per set, second on the team... She has also dished out 16 assists and served up five aces...
Schleis-ing it up....: Sophomore Hannah Schleis is third on the team with 2.73 kills per set ... She tallied a season high 20 kills in the win over Baylor... This past weekend she tallied 11 kills on 23 swings (.435) in the win over Alabama State and 16 kills in the win over Louisiana-Monroe....
ASU Tournament II : Steffi Sooter averaged 4.58 digs per set at the ASU tourney... she tallied a total of 55 digs in the three matches... For the season she has 118 digs (2.41)....
Welcome Back: Senior Jennifer Keddy is back in the lineup for the Mustangs... After limited action at the Northern Colorado/Colorado State Tournament, Keddy played in two matches and six sets at the Sacramento State Tournament. In her time on the court (22 sets) she has averaged 1.91 kills while hitting .175. She has totaled 13 total blocks for a 0.59 average. The two-time All-American tallied 10 kills on 15 swings with no errors (.667) in the match with San Jose State. Keddy missed all of last season with a shoulder injury and later in the off season had foot surgery.
Setting it Up...: Second-year head coach has made the use of two setters this season with sophomore Maddie Kuber playing 32 sets and junior Shannon Garrett 26 sets.... Kuber dishes out 8.91 assists per set while Garrett hands out 8.35 assists... Kuber and Garrett also check in with 1.66 and 1.62 digs per set respectively....
Calling All Freshman: True freshman Taylor Gruenewald has been making a name for herself just 13 matches into the 2013 season.... Let's look at what she has done overall.... She has seen action in all 49 sets and averages 2.24 kills while hitting .290.... She has played big at the net in leading the team with 32 total blocks (four solo) averaging 0.65 blocks...
Cal Tournament by the Numbers: Senior Chelsea Hardin led the team in the three matches at the Cal tournament this past weekend with 3.30 kills while hitting .247. Megan McConnell added 2.70 kills and 2.90 digs with Jen Keddy recording 2.40 kills and 0.80 blocks.
Seniors Taking The Reigns:
Chelsea Hardin leads the team with 2.96 kills per set with Megan McConnell checking in with 2.94... Teammate Kate Walters adds 18 service aces and 2.63 digs per set while Steffi Sooter checks in with 2.41 digs per set...
Besting Last Year:
With the two wins this past weekend, Cal Poly surpassed its win total from a season ago.
Headed To Mott Gym...Finally: Cal Poly finally returns to Mott Athletics Center after opening the season with 13 matches on the road...
Breaking it Down by Class...: Seniors 6 -- Kate Walters, Megan McConnell, Jennifer Keddy, Chelsea Hardin, Steffi Sooter and Marianne Gera..
Juniors 2 -- Stacia Williams and Shannon Garrett...
Sophomores 4 --Hannah Schleis, Katie Conroy, Nicole Kessler and Maddie Kuber...
Freshman 6 -- Shannon Fouts, Kristen Witous, Taylor Gruenewald, Anna Gorman, Lexi Reddick, Lauren Pluim...
More on Keddy : What Cal Poly missed last season... Jennifer Keddy, a two-time AVCA All-America selection, was named the 2011 Big West Conference Player of the Year when she led the conference with 4.06 kills per set. The 6-4 middle blocker was also third in hitting percentage with a .339 clip and blocks with a 1.22 average. Keddy's 4.85 points per set average ranks first in the Big West and 22nd in the nation. Her all-around skills include 1.76 digs per set with her career-high 19 coming against UC Irvine. She was also selected for the national A2 team.
Sophomore Step in Time...: Sophomore Nicole's Kessler is a bit of a legacy when it comes to Cal Poly... Aunt, Lynn Kessler, was a standout player for the Mustangs in the 80's under head coach Mike Wilton...
Who is are the Opponents...: Currently there are seven teams on this year's schedule who are ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll.... Hawai'i is currently the top ranked opponent at No. 6 with Stanford at No. 7.... Arizona State moves up in the rankings to No. 16. .. With Colorado State improving to No. 19.... The others receiving votes and include Kansas State (78), California (16) and Cal State Northridge (6)...
McConnell is the MVP: Cal Poly senior Megan McConnell powered the Mustangs to the Sacramento State Tournament Championship by going undefeated in the tourney (3-0). She tallied 44 kills on 129 swings in the tournament (.225), including a career-high 20 kills in the win over San Jose State. She added a pair of double-doulbes in the tournament. Her all-around game included eight assists, two aces and four total blocks.
All-Tournament: Senior Chelsea Hardin earned all-tournament honors at the Sac State tourney... In the three matches she averaged 2.83 kills while hitting .389 in the 12 sets. She also added five assisted blocks... She led the team with 18 kills against Sacramento State and had 13 kills on 17 swings (.647) against Central Connecticut State...
All-Tournament II: True freshman Taylor Gruenewald also was selected to the all-tournament team at the Sac State tourney... In the three matches she averaged 2.42 kills and 0.75 blocks per set... Her kills came on 53 swings (eight errors), hitting .396 in the tourney... In the five-set win over Sac State, Gruenewald tallied 13 kills that came on 21 swings (one error) for a .571 hitting percentage. She also recorded four total blocks (one solo) in the match.
