Friday, October 29
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
7 P.M.
vs
Cal State Fullerton
Photo by: Owen Main
Mustangs Wrap Up Homestand With Fullerton, Long Beach State This Week
10/25/2021 5:04:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Sitting in third-place through the first half of conference play, the Cal Poly volleyball team will play the final two matches of its four-match homestand this week when facing a pair of Big West teams at Mott Athletics Center that they already beat earlier this year.
The Mustangs (9-12, 7-3 BWC) will take on fifth-place Cal State Fullerton on Friday and eighth-place Long Beach State on Saturday. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m. starts. Friday's match against the Titans is Youth Night which is free admission for kids 13 and under.
Attendees are required by the California Department of Public Health to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken up to 72 hours prior to the event. Proof of vaccinations include the actual card, a photo of your card or a QR code verifying that you have been vaccinated. Proof of a negative test must include documentation from the testing agency. Facial coverings are required for all volleyball fans at all times, unless actively eating or drinking. No negative test is required for attendees 12 and under.
For fans not able to attend in person, both matches will have live streaming video, audio, and live stats. Daniel Gillman and Maia Dvoracek will provide play-by-play for both audio and video streams. Links to all these can be found on the volleyball schedule page.
Last week Cal Poly, playing its first two matches of the season without its leader in kills Jamie Stivers who is out with a broken arm, split its two matches. The Mustangs beat UC San Diego in five-sets Friday 3-2 and fell 0-3 on Saturday to UC Irvine.
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Tommi Stockham led the Mustangs offensively while playing all six rotations for the first times this season. Against the Tritons she recorded her first double-double of the season with season-highs of 19 kills and 16 digs. Then against UC Irvine she finished with 17 kills and six digs. She has now had double-digit kills in six of the last seven matches. Through the first 10 conference matches, Stockham ranks fourth in the Big West in kills per set at 3.45.
Meantime, freshman libero Peyton Dueck has already proven to be one of the best liberos in the Big West and continued to show her value both defensively and from the service line. Against UC San Diego she finished with 19 digs and a career-high six aces. Her six aces are the most by any Big West player in a match this season and were just two shy of tying the program record of eight. Against UC Irvine she had nine digs and three more aces. So far this season, she is averaging 4.15 digs per set which ranks third in the Big West and has 32 aces which leads the conference and ranks 35th in the nation.
Including just the first 10 Big West matches, Cal Poly ranks among the top five in the conference nearly every category as a team. The Mustangs are second in the Big West in both blocks (2.37 per set) and service aces (1.38 per set), third in hitting percentage (.233), opponent hitting percentage (.175), and digs (16.21 per set), and fourth in both assists (11.97 per set) and kills (13.09 per set).
The Titans enter the match winners of three of their last four matches and sit with an overall record of 8-9 and a Big West record of 5-5. Last week they had a pair of 3-1 victories over UC Davis and UC Riverside. Fullerton has been led this year by outside hitter Julia Crawford who ranks fifth in the conference in kills at 3.42 per set and second in digs at 4.47 per set. The Mustangs won the first meeting against the Titans 3-2 this season in Fullerton on Sept. 25. Cal Poly has won the last 13 matchups and holds the advantage in the all-time series 59-10.
The Beach head into the week with a 9-12 overall record and a 3-7 Big West record. They have lost their last three matches and are coming off losses last week to UC Riverside and UC Davis. On Monday, Long Beach State dismissed fifth-year head coach Joy McKienzie-Fuerbringer effective immediately and named fourth-year assistant coach Sabrina Hernandez as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Cal Poly swept the Beach 3-0 in the first meeting of the season on Sept. 25 in Long Beach. Long Beach State leads the all-time series 46-25. However, Cal Poly has won six of the last seven matchups.
Cal Poly By The Sets: Seven of Cal Poly's nine wins this year have come via sweep. They are 7-7 this year in three-set matches, 0-3 in four-set matches, and 2-2 in five-set matches.
When the Mustangs win the first set, they are 9-2. When they lose the first set, they are 0-10.
Youthful Stangs: This season, Cal Poly has been heavily reliant on its underclassmen with four freshmen who have been consistent contributors. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Tommi Stockham is second on the team in kills at 3.03 per set. Fellow redshirt freshman outside hitter Amy Hiatt is fourth on the team in kills at 2.24 per set and third in blocks at .66 per set. Redshirt freshman middle blocker Kate Slack, who has started all 21 matches, is averaging 1.27 kills per set and is second on the team in blocks at .77 per set. Freshman libero Peyton Dueck, who has also started all 21 matches, is averaging 4.15 digs per set which ranks third in the Big West and has 32 aces which leads the conference and ranks 35th in the nation.
Tough Non-Conference Schedule: Cal Poly put itself to the test in its non-conference schedule. The Mustangs played 11 non-conference matches with five of those against teams ranked in the AVCA Preseason Top 25.
Those teams were No. 13 Louisville, No. 19 Utah, No. 22 San Diego, No. 9 Washington, and No. 22 Pepperdine.
Setting Up Her Teammates: Junior setter Avalon DeNecochea currently ranks seventh in program history for career assists with 2,856. She moved into seventh earlier this season on Sept. 25 in a match against Cal State Fullerton.
Her single match career-high for assists is 62 which came in that Sept. 25 match against the Titans.
Strong In Conference: Since 2017, the Mustangs are 51-7 in Big West matches. That includes a perfect 16-0 record in 2017, a 15-1 record in 2018, a 13-3 record in 2019, and a 7-3 record so far this season.
Cal Poly won the Big West Conference in 2017 and 2018 and has won the conference title a total of five times.
The Mustangs (9-12, 7-3 BWC) will take on fifth-place Cal State Fullerton on Friday and eighth-place Long Beach State on Saturday. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m. starts. Friday's match against the Titans is Youth Night which is free admission for kids 13 and under.
Attendees are required by the California Department of Public Health to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken up to 72 hours prior to the event. Proof of vaccinations include the actual card, a photo of your card or a QR code verifying that you have been vaccinated. Proof of a negative test must include documentation from the testing agency. Facial coverings are required for all volleyball fans at all times, unless actively eating or drinking. No negative test is required for attendees 12 and under.
For fans not able to attend in person, both matches will have live streaming video, audio, and live stats. Daniel Gillman and Maia Dvoracek will provide play-by-play for both audio and video streams. Links to all these can be found on the volleyball schedule page.
Last week Cal Poly, playing its first two matches of the season without its leader in kills Jamie Stivers who is out with a broken arm, split its two matches. The Mustangs beat UC San Diego in five-sets Friday 3-2 and fell 0-3 on Saturday to UC Irvine.
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Tommi Stockham led the Mustangs offensively while playing all six rotations for the first times this season. Against the Tritons she recorded her first double-double of the season with season-highs of 19 kills and 16 digs. Then against UC Irvine she finished with 17 kills and six digs. She has now had double-digit kills in six of the last seven matches. Through the first 10 conference matches, Stockham ranks fourth in the Big West in kills per set at 3.45.
Meantime, freshman libero Peyton Dueck has already proven to be one of the best liberos in the Big West and continued to show her value both defensively and from the service line. Against UC San Diego she finished with 19 digs and a career-high six aces. Her six aces are the most by any Big West player in a match this season and were just two shy of tying the program record of eight. Against UC Irvine she had nine digs and three more aces. So far this season, she is averaging 4.15 digs per set which ranks third in the Big West and has 32 aces which leads the conference and ranks 35th in the nation.
Including just the first 10 Big West matches, Cal Poly ranks among the top five in the conference nearly every category as a team. The Mustangs are second in the Big West in both blocks (2.37 per set) and service aces (1.38 per set), third in hitting percentage (.233), opponent hitting percentage (.175), and digs (16.21 per set), and fourth in both assists (11.97 per set) and kills (13.09 per set).
The Titans enter the match winners of three of their last four matches and sit with an overall record of 8-9 and a Big West record of 5-5. Last week they had a pair of 3-1 victories over UC Davis and UC Riverside. Fullerton has been led this year by outside hitter Julia Crawford who ranks fifth in the conference in kills at 3.42 per set and second in digs at 4.47 per set. The Mustangs won the first meeting against the Titans 3-2 this season in Fullerton on Sept. 25. Cal Poly has won the last 13 matchups and holds the advantage in the all-time series 59-10.
The Beach head into the week with a 9-12 overall record and a 3-7 Big West record. They have lost their last three matches and are coming off losses last week to UC Riverside and UC Davis. On Monday, Long Beach State dismissed fifth-year head coach Joy McKienzie-Fuerbringer effective immediately and named fourth-year assistant coach Sabrina Hernandez as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Cal Poly swept the Beach 3-0 in the first meeting of the season on Sept. 25 in Long Beach. Long Beach State leads the all-time series 46-25. However, Cal Poly has won six of the last seven matchups.
Cal Poly By The Sets: Seven of Cal Poly's nine wins this year have come via sweep. They are 7-7 this year in three-set matches, 0-3 in four-set matches, and 2-2 in five-set matches.
When the Mustangs win the first set, they are 9-2. When they lose the first set, they are 0-10.
Youthful Stangs: This season, Cal Poly has been heavily reliant on its underclassmen with four freshmen who have been consistent contributors. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Tommi Stockham is second on the team in kills at 3.03 per set. Fellow redshirt freshman outside hitter Amy Hiatt is fourth on the team in kills at 2.24 per set and third in blocks at .66 per set. Redshirt freshman middle blocker Kate Slack, who has started all 21 matches, is averaging 1.27 kills per set and is second on the team in blocks at .77 per set. Freshman libero Peyton Dueck, who has also started all 21 matches, is averaging 4.15 digs per set which ranks third in the Big West and has 32 aces which leads the conference and ranks 35th in the nation.
Tough Non-Conference Schedule: Cal Poly put itself to the test in its non-conference schedule. The Mustangs played 11 non-conference matches with five of those against teams ranked in the AVCA Preseason Top 25.
Those teams were No. 13 Louisville, No. 19 Utah, No. 22 San Diego, No. 9 Washington, and No. 22 Pepperdine.
Setting Up Her Teammates: Junior setter Avalon DeNecochea currently ranks seventh in program history for career assists with 2,856. She moved into seventh earlier this season on Sept. 25 in a match against Cal State Fullerton.
Her single match career-high for assists is 62 which came in that Sept. 25 match against the Titans.
Strong In Conference: Since 2017, the Mustangs are 51-7 in Big West matches. That includes a perfect 16-0 record in 2017, a 15-1 record in 2018, a 13-3 record in 2019, and a 7-3 record so far this season.
Cal Poly won the Big West Conference in 2017 and 2018 and has won the conference title a total of five times.
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballCal Poly vs. SJSU, Volleyball Highlights -- Sep 14th, 2025
Monday, September 15
Cal Poly vs. Cal, Volleyball Highlights -- Sep 12th, 2025
Saturday, September 13
Cal Poly vs. CSUB, Women's Volleyball Highlights -- Nov. 8th, 2024
Saturday, November 09
Cal Poly vs. UCSB, Women's Volleyball Highlights -- Oct. 17th, 2024
Friday, October 18
