Santa Clara
Mustangs Split Final Two Matches of Washington/Seattle Tournament
9/3/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
SEATTLE — The Cal Poly volleyball team split its final two matches of the Washington/Seattle Tournament Saturday.
In their morning game, the Mustangs (5-1), swept Santa Clara (27-25, 25-21, 25-18). The Van Winden sisters, Torrey and Adlee, led Cal Poly with 15 kills apiece. Senior setter Taylor Nelson had 30 assists to go along with 15 digs.
As a team, Cal Poly had 56 digs and seven blocks in the match.
"I like the fact that we found out we can compete in and win close matches," Cal Poly head coach Sam Crosson said of the win.
It was the Mustangs' fifth match in a row without losing a set.
In the evening match, despite a strong showing from the Mustangs, Cal Poly fell to No. 8 Washington in three sets (25-20, 28-26, 25-17), their first loss of the season.
In front of a mostly Washington crowd, Cal Poly battled hard each set. It was a back-and-forth first set before the Mustangs ultimately lost 25-20. In the second set, despite falling behind 6-1 early on, Cal Poly rallied to get back in the set. The Mustangs fought off four set points Washington had before losing a heartbreaker 28-26. Cal Poly continued to battle the Huskies in the third set before falling 25-17.
Sophomore outside hitter Torrey Van Winden had a season-high 19 kills in the match, also tying her career high. Adlee Van Winden had 10 kills. Nelson led the Mustangs in assists with 38.
"Torrey Van Winden had an overall very good match for us," Crosson said. "Her serving, her attacking. She really stepped up to the occasion."
The Huskies (5-1), were paced by senior outside hitter Courtney Schwan with 14 kills. Carly Dehoog and Destiny Julye had 11 kills apiece. The Huskies were strong defensively, blocking 12 of Cal Poly's attacks.
"I thought our floor defense and effort was really good. Washington is a really tough team that has a lot of good athletes with really good arms," Crosson said.
Two Mustangs were selected to the All-Tournament team. Torrey Van Winden, who had a combined 50 kills in 3 games, and Taylor Nelson, who had 102 assists for the tournament.
The Mustangs will stay in the Pacific Northwest as they prepare for the Nike Classic in Eugene, Ore. next week. They will play the host school, No. 14 Oregon to open tournament play Thursday. First serve will be at 6 p.m. That will be followed by Duquesne on Friday and Wichita State on Saturday.
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