20-2, 10-0
UC Irvine
18-3, 6-2
Mustangs Sweep Anteaters for Best Start in Program History
10/24/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
IRVINE— Sisters Torrey and Adlee Van Winden combined for 29 kills to help lead the Cal Poly volleyball team to its 15th straight win in a sweep over UC Irvine (25-22, 25-20, 25-23), to hand the Anteaters (18-3, 6-2) its first loss at home this season
The Mustangs are now 20-2, 10-0 in the Big West and are off to the best start in program history. They also reached the 20-win mark for the first time since 2010.
Torrey, a sophomore, led Cal Poly with 18 kills while Adlee, a junior, finished with 11 kills to go along with nine digs. Senior Raeann Greisen also notched double-digit kills for the match, finishing with 10. Senior setter Taylor Nelson lead the passing game for the Mustangs with 44 assists and also getting nine digs. Sophomore Jessica McRoskey led Cal Poly in digs with 13.
All three sets ended up close. The Mustangs got out to an 8-3 lead to start the match before UC Irvine closed the gap and got back in the set. Up 16-14, Cal Poly went on a 6-0 run to go up 22-14. The Anteaters would cut the lead to 24-22 before a Greisen kill won the set for the Mustangs.
The second set saw both teams trade points for the majority of the set. However, up 16-15 Cal Poly would score five straight points to go up 21-15 and would go on to win the set 25-20.
The Mustangs started red hot in the third, getting out to a 6-1 lead and up 10-4 at one point. Irvine got it back to 10-8 and it would go back-and-forth after that. Up 17-16, Cal Poly went on a 5-2 run to go up 22-18. The Anteaters rallied to get it to 23-22. Up 24-23, a Greisen kill solidified the sweep for the Mustangs.
"I thought we just executed better for longer tonight," Cal Poly head coach Sam Crosson said. "Irvine is a good team. I thought we made some very good defensive moves at times and were able to transition well. Our passers were very dialed in for the entire match."
"It was another good consistent team effort. We kept their defense guessing and we were very engaged from the start and stayed consistent."
Cal Poly now takes its 15-match winning streak (the third longest in the country) back home to Mott Athletics Center for a match against second place Hawai'i on Friday. The Rainbow Wahine are riding a four-match winning streak and are 9-1 in the Big West. The Mustangs handed them their only conference loss of the season earlier this month in Honolulu. First serve for the match is set for 7 p.m.
"It's a great opportunity this team has put themselves in," Crosson said. "Hawai'i is certainly going to be excited to compete against us. We're looking forward to the great support we've had all season from our fans and hopefully get a sellout."
