5-0
Sam Houston State
3-3
Cal Poly Splits Saturday Matches, Improves to 5-1 This Season
9/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
WACO, Texas – Cal Poly volleyball concluded the Hampton Inn Waco North Baylor Tournament by splitting a pair of matches on Saturday with a sweep of Sam Houston State and a four-set defeat to Baylor inside the Ferrell Center. The victory over the Bearkats was Cal Poly's fifth in a row to begin the season – the program's first 5-0 start since 2006 – and after falling behind 2-0 to Baylor, forced a fourth set and eventually fell, 3-1.
Against Sam Houston State, Cal Poly used a three-set blitz to overwhelm the Bearkats (25-20, 25-12, and 25-12) on Saturday morning. After the Mustangs fell behind to Baylor, Cal Poly fought back and nearly forced a fifth and decisive set. Cal Poly freshman Adlee Van Winden displayed her attacking prowess once again, this time with a 14-kill performance to lead all players against Sam Houston State, while sophomore outside hitter Raeann Greisen's 22 kills were two away from a career-high against Baylor.
After Saturday night's match against the Bears, Cal Poly head coach Sam Crosson was complimentary of his team's play during the Baylor Tournament and is excited about the confidence they have built through the seasons' first six matches.
"Starting the season the way we have provides a lot of confidence for our team," Crosson said. "I really like where we're at as a group in terms of team chemistry."
Against the Bearkats during the morning session, Greisen sent home eight kills for the Mustangs, while sophomore outside hitter Casey Carroll chipped in with six kills, including a .417 attack percentage. Sophomore setter Taylor Nelson produced a match-high 23 assists and chipped in with 12 digs, while freshman libero Katherine Brouker tallied a team-best 15 digs.
Sam Houston State junior Shelby Genung lead the Bearkats with seven kills, while sophomore Jordyn Vaughn and freshman Taylor Cunningham collected four kills apiece. With the loss, Sam Houston State falls to 3-3 overall this season.
Cal Poly opened up the first set on Saturday against the Bearkats by collecting leads of 7-1 and 14-8, only to see Sam Houston State claw its way back. A kill by Vaughn trimmed the Mustangs lead to 14-12, and after a timeout by Cal Poly, five of the next six points went to the Mustangs and an 18-13 advantage. With Cal Poly ahead 23-19 after a kill by Carroll, two attack errors by the Bearkats gave the Mustangs a 25-20 win.
The second set was much tighter than the first, with Cal Poly clinging to a 9-8 advantage early on. Consecutive kills from Gruenewald and Greisen padded the Mustang lead and after the Bearkats drew to within two points of the lead at 13-11, it was as close as they would get. Successive kills from Greisen and Carroll supplied the Mustangs with a 15-11 advantage, and after an attack error by Cal Poly, the Mustangs scored the final 10 points of the set – including three kills from Van Winden – to claim victory, 25-12.
Cal Poly jumped out to a 10-3 lead during the third set, and after a kill by Greisen, had doubled up the Bearkats, 14-7. The Mustang attack continued to overwhelm Sam Houston State, as Cal Poly collected nine of the next 10 points to grab a 23-8 lead. Five attack errors by the Bearkats, coupled with two more Van Winden kills supplied the Mustangs with their biggest advantage of the set. Kills from Carroll and Van Winden finished off Sam Houston State in the third, 25-12, and handed Cal Poly its second straight, three-set victory in as many matches.
On Saturday night against Baylor, despite being down by two sets, Cal Poly battled back to force a fourth set before falling, 3-1 (21-25, 18-25, 25-23 and 23-25).
"We had chances to win the first set against Baylor," said Crosson. "I was happy with how we found a way to come back after being down early."
While Greisen collected 22 kills against Baylor, Van Winden continued to shine in the Mustang attack, collecting 18 more kills against the Bears. Gruenewald added to her impressive opening-season resume with eight more kills against Baylor and Nelson continued her incredible run to open the year with 49 more assists. Four Mustangs compiled double-digit dig totals, including Brouker (19 digs), Roach (15), Nelson (13) and Van Winden (12).
Baylor's Shelly Fanning sent home 14 kills, Morgan Reed collected 27 assists and Jana Brusek compiled 18 digs for the Bears.
Nelson received the best setter award during the four-team Baylor Tournament, amassing 90 assists during the three matches. Greisen also took home an award from the tournament, as the sophomore was selected as the best attacker (42 kills).
Throughout the three matches this weekend at the Baylor Tournament, Cal Poly's Van Winden totaled 41 kills, Gruenewald compiled 21 kills and Brouker produced 42 digs.
Cal Poly's 5-1 start to the season is a program-best since 2006 and Crosson is pleased with the team's progress, both tactically and technically.
"Our core group has a year of experience and our start this season shows we're making progress," Crosson said. "When we do what we do well, we are a very effective team."
Cal Poly looks to continue its best start to open a season in a decade, traveling north next week to take part in the North Harbour Marriott Invitational in Portland, Oregon. The Mustangs square off against Idaho at 7 p.m. PT Friday and St. Francis Brooklyn (1 p.m.) and Portland (7 p.m.) Saturday.
