Mustangs at CSU Bakersfield Tuesday, Host Hawai’i Saturday

Tuesday, November 16

Bakersfield, CA

5 P.M.

CSU Bakersfield

Photo by: Owen Main

Mustangs at CSU Bakersfield Tuesday, Host Hawai’i Saturday

11/15/2021 5:56:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Currently in third-place in the Big West standings with four matches remaining, the Cal Poly volleyball team will travel for a Tuesday road contest at CSU Bakersfield before hosting first-place Hawai'i on Saturday for its final home match of the season. The Mustangs (13-14, 11-5 BWC) will face the Roadrunners (16-8, 9-7 BWC) at 5 p.m. Tuesday from the Icardo Center. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Cal Poly's Daniel Gillman on the call. Cal Poly will then host the Rainbow Wahine (18-6, 15-1 BWC) on Saturday at 8 p.m. at Mott Athletics Center for Senior Night. Four Mustangs: Nicole Cavote, Taylor Rose, Jamie Stivers, and Lea Ungar will have their careers celebrated prior to the start of the match. Saturday's match will have live video and audio streaming as well as live stats. Links to watch and follow both matches this week can be found on the volleyball schedule page. 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. The Mustangs head into the week riding a three-match win streak. Last week, they picked up a pair of 3-1 home victories over UC Davis and UC Riverside to move to 11-5 in conference play. Leading the Mustangs offensively continues to be redshirt freshman outside hitter Tommi Stockham ever since redshirt senior outside hitter Jamie Stivers suffered a season-ending arm injury. In conference play, Stockham leads the Big West in kills per set at 4.00 and is second in points per set at 4.31. She also has five double-doubles on the season. Meantime, junior setter Avalon DeNecochea has set up the offense to a tune of .224 hitting percentage which ranks fourth in the Big West. Individually, DeNecochea is second in the Big West in assists per set at 10.41. Defensively, Cal Poly has been led in the front row by junior middle blocker Meredith Phillips, who is averaging .98 blocks per set which ranks eighth in the Big West. In the back row, freshman libero Peyton Dueck paces the Mustangs with 4.10 digs per set which ranks sixth in the Big West. She also continues to lead the conference in service aces with 40. As a team during conference play, Cal Poly ranks third in hitting percentage (.237), opponent hitting percentage (.175), assists (12.50 per set), and kills (13.52 per set). CSU Bakersfield heads into Tuesday's match in fourth in the Big West standings at 9-7. Last week, they beat UC Riverside 3-1 before being reverse swept by UC Davis 3-2. Cal Poly swept the Roadrunners on Oct. 12 at Mott Athletics Center and are 4-1 all-time against them. Hawai'i heads into the week having won seven matches in a row and a hold of first-place in the Big West standings at 15-1. Six of their last seven wins have been via sweep with their only loss coming via a sweep by UCSB. The Rainbow Wahine beat the Mustangs on Oct. 15 3-0 in Honolulu. However, the Mustangs have beat Hawai'i the last three times they've played at Mott Athletics Center. Overall, Hawai'i leads the all-time series 42-8. Cal Poly By The Sets: So far this season, Cal Poly is 8-7 in three-set matches, 3-4 in four-set matches, and 2-3 in five-set matches. When the Mustangs win the first set, they are 12-2. When they lose the first set, they are 1-12. 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 3,053. She moved into seventh earlier this season on Sept. 25 in a match against Cal State Fullerton. She needs 33 more assists to move into sixth place. 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 55-9 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 11-5 record so far this season.