11-4,3-1
UC Irvine
7-10,1-4
Cal Poly Sweeps UC Irvine, Wins Third Straight
10/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
IRVINE, Calif. – The Cal Poly volleyball team continued its midseason surge on Thursday evening with a three-set road sweep of UC Irvine (25-17, 25-11, 25-17) inside Crawford Court. Cal Poly sophomore Raeann Greisen led the charge with a match-best 14 kills, sophomore middle blocker Savannah Niemen produced 10 kills and five blocks, sophomore setter Taylor Nelson provided a match-high 37 assists and freshman outside hitter Adlee Van Winden led all players with 17 digs.
Cal Poly improves to 11-4 overall this season and 3-1 in Big West play, while UC Irvine falls to 7-10 and 1-4. It is the second consecutive sweep victory for the Mustangs after won in three sets over CSUN last Saturday afternoon.
Cal Poly hasn't dropped a single set since falling in the second to Long Beach State last Friday night – a span of eight straight sets without a defeat.
Victoria Dennis led the Anteaters with seven kills, Emily Blair compiled 14 assists and Luna Tsujimoto finished with a team-high seven digs.
After the first set was knotted at eight, Cal Poly used a 6-0 run to blitz UC Irvine and grab the momentum. A service ace by Van Winden provided the Mustangs with a 21-13 advantage, and coupled with three kills by Greisen and a ball handling error on UCI, Cal Poly grabbed the opening frame, 25-17. There were seven ties and four lead changes in the first set, until Cal Poly took the 9-8 lead and didn't look back.
The second set was where Cal Poly came alive – leads of 8-5 and 9-7 opened the sequence – and with the Mustangs leading 10-7 after a kill by Greisen, Cal Poly went on an 11-0 run to grab complete control of the set and match. Included in the massive surge was three kills by Greisen, two by senior outside hitter Hannah Schleis and two by Niemen. A kill by junior middle blocker Taylor Gruenewald sealed the second set for the Mustangs, 25-11.
The third set featured 19 ties and eight lead changes, as the two sides traded points for the first 19 combined points. Cal Poly opened up a 12-9 advantage after consecutive kills by Van Winden, and a 17-14 deficit was as close as the Anteaters would get. Gruenewald again closed out the set for the Mustangs with a kill, 25-17, and the three-set triumph.
As a team, Cal Poly hit .429 on Thursday evening (98 total attacks, 48 kills, only six total attack errors), while UC Irvine struggled to .162 through the three sets. Cal Poly totaled eight blocks and four service aces, including two from Nelson. Cal Poly hit .412, .467 and .412 during the three sets, as UCI didn't hit better than .222 (3rd) in any individual frame.
Schleis delivered nine kills in the victory, Gruenewald amassed six kills, two digs and two blocks and Nelson recorded 10 digs.
Cal Poly returns home for a single match at 7 p.m. PT Saturday against Blue-Green Rival UC Santa Barbara inside the Mott Athletics Center.
