7-1
St. Francis Brooklyn
1-9
Saturday Comeback Falls Short, Cal Poly Goes 2-1 in Portland Tournament
9/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
PORTLAND, Ore. – Cal Poly volleyball swept St. Francis Brooklyn (25-21, 25-14 and 25-14) and fell to host Portland in five sets (21-25, 25-23, 11-25, 25-15, 11-15) to split its Saturday matches on the final day of the North Harbour Marriott Invitational Tournament inside the Chiles Center. During the tournament championship on Saturday night, the Mustangs delivered two comebacks after falling in the opening and third sets, before eventually succumbing in five. Cal Poly freshman outside hitter Adlee Van Winden collected 20 more kills against Portland to continue her fantastic initial collegiate season.
In the opener on Saturday afternoon against the Terriers, sophomore outside hitter Raeann Greisen led all attackers with 15 kills. The sweep victory over St. Francis Brooklyn, Cal Poly's third such win this season, also saw Adlee Van Winden collect 11 kills and sophomore setter Taylor Nelson compile 26 assists. Against Portland on Saturday night, Nelson amassed a match-high 52 assists (which also equaled her season high), while Greisen produced 15 kills.
St. Francis was led by Dominique Gerard's 11 kills and Kelly O'Halloran chipped in with 17 assists. Hannah Troutman sent home a match-high 22 kills for Portland, while Djurdjina Milovic compiled 50 assists for the Pilots.
The 7-2 start to begin a schedule is Cal Poly's best nine match opening since the 2005 season.
Cal Poly 3, St. Francis Brooklyn 0: Cal Poly opened the first set with leads of 7-5 and 9-6, only to have the Terriers slice the deficit to 10-9 after a Mireya Ramirez kill. After a kill by Van Winden, Cal Poly led 16-13 and with a service ace from sophomore middle blocker Savannah Niemen, the Mustangs had a 20-14 lead. St. Francis Brooklyn, though, did not go away quietly, as the Terriers collected the next four points to trim their deficit to two, 20-18. The Mustangs and St. Francis Brooklyn would then trade the next seven points, and with Cal Poly ahead 24-21, a Van Winden kill provided the Mustangs the opening set.
The Terriers grabbed leads of 6-4 and 8-6 in the second set before the Mustang attack awoke and found its rhythm. After a kill by Niemen knotted the set at nine apiece, Cal Poly collected three of the next five points, including two kills by Greisen and one by Van Winden. Consecutive kills by St. Francis Brooklyn's Niehely Sosa and Angela Hudelson and a service ace by Leah Zitting tied the set at 14 apiece. Cal Poly then went on a rampage – four kills by Greisen included – to overwhelm the Terriers by collecting the next 10 points and a 25-14 victory. A service ace by Nelson sealed the second-set victory for the Mustangs.
After a kill by Mustang redshirt freshman outside hitter Alexis Clewis, Cal Poly led the third set, 17-9 and never looked back. With Cal Poly freshman libero Katherine Brouker serving, the Terriers committed an attack error and ball handling error during the next two points to provide the Mustangs with an insurmountable 19-9 advantage. Mustang sophomore middle blocker Caihla Petiprin put the finishing touches on the third set and match sweep with a kill and 25-14 triumph.
After only hitting .150 during the opening set, Cal Poly roared to life with second and third set attack percentages of .486 and .381. During 56 total attempts – which included 27 kills – the Mustangs made only two attack errors during the final two sets. Meanwhile, the Mustangs limited the Terriers to an overall hitting percentage of .080, including .000 in the third set (10 kills, 10 hitting errors).
St. Francis Brooklyn managed only two blocks to the Cal Poly's 10, as Petiprin collected three and Niemen and Clewis each recorded two. Nelson recorded 13 digs to go along with her 26 assists and five kills, Brouker produced 12 digs and Niemen recorded four kills.
Portland 3, Cal Poly 2: After the Mustangs went down 5-0 to open the match against the Pilots on Saturday in the tournament championship, Cal Poly trimmed the deficit to 8-5 after a kill by Greisen. A Van Winden kill and consecutive attack errors by the Pilots enabled the Mustangs to grab their first lead at 15-13. A kill by Portland's Emily Liger knotted the opening set at 20, and the Pilots would collect the next four points to take a 24-20 lead and won the first set, 25-21.
A kill by Cal Poly senior outside hitter Hannah Schleis provided the Mustangs a 9-8 lead in the second set, and the Pilots and Mustangs traded the next four points with Cal Poly ahead, 11-10. Portland secured three of the next four points to grab a 13-12 advantage, only to have Cal Poly battle back and tie the score at 16. Another kill by Schleis gave the Mustangs a 17-16 lead and after Cal Poly fell down again, 21-19, the Mustangs collected the next four points and a 23-21 advantage. With Cal Poly clinging to a one point lead, Greisen sent home a kill to secure the 25-23, second-set victory and even the match at one.
The third set was all Portland, as Cal Poly fell behind with scores of 12-2 and 16-6. After a kill by Gruenewald, the Pilots secured the final three points to win the third, 25-11 and take a 2-1 set lead into the fourth.
The Mustangs jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the fourth set after a kill by junior middle blocker Taylor Gruenewald, and with their backs against the wall, collected a five-point advantage, 13-8, after a kill by Niemen. Successive kills by Nelson and Greisen provided the Mustangs with a 19-14, and after consecutive kills by Nelson, Cal Poly secured a 25-15, fourth-set victory and forced a fifth and decisive set.
During the fifth set, the Mustangs fell behind early, 6-4, prompting a timeout by Cal Poly head coach Sam Crosson. At the media timeout, the Pilots held an 8-5 lead, and after a kill by Van Winden – her 19th of the match – Cal Poly was down only 9-8. The Pilots secured two of the next three points for an 11-9 lead, and after a Mustang attack error, Portland led 13-10. Two points away from a match victory, Portland forced another timeout by Cal Poly. A kill by Portland's Monica Gajda had the Mustangs down, 14-10, and a kill by Hannah Troutman gave the Pilots the 15-11, fifth-set victory and the match triumph.
Three Mustangs were selected to the All-Tournament team, including Greisen (39 total kills through the three matches in Portland), Van Winden (46 kills) and Nelson (120 assists).
Cal Poly opens the 10-match home portion of its schedule when hosting San Diego State on Friday, Sept. 18 with a first-set serve at 7 p.m. Follow all the action through live stats with this LINK, and be sure to follow Cal Poly volleyball on Twitter HERE.
