3-0
Northern Illinois
0-3
Cal Poly Volleyball Sweeps Again to Win Northern Illinois Invitational
8/26/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
DeKALB, Ill. — With a 25-12, 25-14, 25-23 win over Northern Illinois on Saturday night, the Cal Poly volleyball team earned its third sweep in two days, opening the 2017 season by winning the NIU Holiday Inn Express Invitational at Victor E. Court.
It was also the third straight victory over a defending conference champion for the Mustangs (as the host Huskies won the MAC crown at 15-1, 25-6 overall, in 2016). Cal Poly had previously beaten Dayton and High Point inside the Convocation Center on Friday.
Junior outside hitter Adlee Van Winden was named Tournament MVP, while Mustang teammates Taylor Nelson and Torrey Van Winden were also selected to the all-tournament team, along with Dayton's Jane Emmenecker and Kendyll Brown, High Point's Jenna Smith, and NIU's Meg Wolowicz.
The Mustangs dominated the first set, which featured eight service aces (four delivered by Jessica McRoskey, two by Torrey Van Winden, and one apiece for Nikki Jackson and Adlee Van Winden.)
Also in the opening game, Adlee landed 5 kills in just 7 attacks, and Nelson distributed eight assists.
In the second set, the Huskies got out to a 6-5 edge early on, but Cal Poly answered with an 8-0 run for a commanding 13-6 lead, and cruised the rest of the way. The Mustangs combined for 18 kills in Game No. 2, including a team-best five by Torrey Van Winden, while Nelson had 14 assists and Katherine Brouker made nine digs to help Cal Poly move ahead 2-0.
The final set featured a similar Mustang rally, as NIU established a 12-6 lead before Cal Poly recovered by tallying 10 consecutive points, going up 16-12. A kill by Wolowicz kept NIU alive late at 24-23, but Nelson set for a Torrey Van Winden kill to clinch the match on the ensuing serve.
Each of the Van Winden sisters had a dozen kills in the victory, while Nelson totaled 34 assists, and Brouker finished with a squad-high 14 digs.
Tournament play will continue for Cal Poly, as the Mustangs will head to the Pacific Northwest next weekend for the Washington/Seattle U. Invitational. They'll open vs. the Redhawks at 6 p.m. Friday, before facing Santa Clara at 10 a.m. Saturday and then closing by taking on third-ranked Washington at 7 p.m.
