Wednesday, September 1
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
7 P.M.
vs
Texas A&M
Photo by: Matt Aguirre Photography
Cal Poly Volleyball Hosts First Home Match Since 2019 Wednesday Against Texas A&M
8/31/2021 11:27:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
DIGITAL GAME PROGRAM
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — For the first time in 648 days, the Cal Poly volleyball team will host a home match at Mott Athletics Center when welcoming in Texas A&M on Wednesday.
First serve is set for 7 p.m. Kids 13 and under get free admission. 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 an 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 events at Mott Athletics Center.
Fan interaction with coaches or student-athletes will not be allowed at this time. This includes family members and friends of individuals participating in competition. Hand sanitizing stations will be available and masks will be provided for fans upon request.
For fans not able to attend, live video and audio streaming as well as live stat links will be available and can be found on the schedule page. Daniel Gillman will have the play-by-play call for both video and audio.
Following Wednesday's match against the Aggies (1-2), the Mustangs (1-2) will travel to Salt Lake City, Utah for the University of Utah Classic. There, Cal Poly will face the No. 19 Utes (2-0) and Utah Valley (0-2) on Friday followed by No. 22 San Diego (1-1) on Saturday. Friday's match against No. 19 Utah will be live streamed. A link for that can be found on the schedule page.
Wednesday's match against Texas A&M will be Cal Poly's first home match since Nov. 23, 2019. The Mustangs are still riding the nation's longest active home win streak at 32 consecutive matches.
In its opening weekend of the season this past weekend at the Sun Devil Volleyball Classic in Tempe, Ariz., Cal Poly went 1-2 in its three matches. The Mustangs fell to No. 13 Louisville and Arizona State on Friday before sweeping Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Saturday.
In those three matches, redshirt freshman outside hitter Tommi Stockham led all Mustangs in kills with 29 while also adding four aces. Junior middle blocker Meredith Phillips had 27 kills, hit .321, had 14 blocks and was named to the All-Tournament team. Redshirt senior outside hitter Jamie Stivers had 25 kills, 27 digs, and four aces. Junior setter Avalon DeNecochea had 88 assists, 19 digs, and nine blocks.
Scouting The Opponents: Cal Poly is 5-2 all-time against Texas A&M but this will be the first match between the two programs since 1993. The Aggies are 1-2 so far this year and are coming off an opening weekend in which they fell to Marquette and Hawai'i and beat Fairfield.
No. 19 Utah started the season 2-0 after beating Utah Valley twice while Utah Valley is 0-2 after those losses.
No. 22 San Diego started its season 1-1 after a loss to No. 1 Texas and a win over UTSA.
Cal Poly In the Polls: In the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll, the Mustangs were picked to finish second in the conference. Cal Poly received a total of 111 points and four of the 11 first place votes. They finished just behind defending conference champion Hawai'i, who received 117 points and the other seven first place votes.
Tough Non-Conference Schedule: Cal Poly will put itself to the test this season with its non-conference schedule. The Mustangs have a total of 11 non-conference matches with five of those against teams who are ranked in the AVCA Preseason Top 25.
Those teams are Louisville, Utah, San Diego, Washington, and Pepperdine.
Home Cookin': Cal Poly has won 32 consecutive home matches, the longest active home winning streak in Division I volleyball. The Mustangs have gone undefeated at Mott Athletics Center the last three seasons and have not lost a home match since October 28, 2016.
In 2018 & 2019, the Mustangs had the second-highest average home attendance amongst Division I schools in California, trailing only Stanford.
Setting Up Her Teammates: Junior setter Avalon DeNecochea currently ranks eighth in program history for career assists with 2,120. She needs 466 more assists to move into seventh place.
Her single game career high for assists is 59 which came in a 2019 match against Pepperdine.
Old and New Faces: The Mustangs return eight players from its 2019 roster while welcoming 13 newcomers to the team. Returning for the Mustangs include setter Avalon DeNecochea and middle blocker Meredith Phillips both of whom were First Team All-Big West selections in 2019. DeNecochea, who currently ranks eighth in program history for career assists with 2,032, averaged 9.48 assists per set, 1.62 digs per set, .62 blocks per set, and .29 aces per set in 2019. Phillips averaged 1.80 kills per set and led the team in blocks at .90 per set in 2019.
Other returners for Cal Poly include redshirt senior outside hitter Jamie Stivers outside hitter Nicole Cavote as well as liberos/defensive specialists Lea Ungar and Taylor Rose. Stivers played in the first 10 matches of the season, averaging 2.00 kills per set before suffering a season-ending knee injury during a match against Colorado State. Cavote played in 27 sets in 2019, averaging 1.37 kills per set. Ungar played in all 110 sets in 2019 as a defensive specialist, averaging 2.12 digs per set and was even received a Big West Defensive Player of the Week honor once during the season. Rose appeared in 78 sets in 2019 as a defensive specialist, averaging 1.49 digs per set.
Meanwhile a key player from 2019, Maia Dvoracek, who was an AVCA Third-Team All-American and First Team All-Big West selection will miss the 2021 season due to a knee injury she suffered in the spring.
The 13 newcomers to the team this season include three transfers, three redshirt freshmen who were around the team in 2020, and seven true freshmen. Among those transfers are redshirt freshman outside hitter Tommi Stockham who transferred after one season at Indiana. In her lone season with the Hoosiers in 2020, Stockham played in all 18 matches and led the team in kills with 206. She had 12 matches in which she notched double-digit kill numbers, including a season-high 26 against Iowa and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week following the two-match series against the Hawkeyes. She was also second on the team in digs with 146 and had seven double-doubles on the season.
Another transfer the Mustangs added is junior outside hitter Kristina Jordan who came to Cal Poly after two seasons at West Virginia. With the Mountaineers, she played in 57 matches and averaged 2.20 kills per set and .67 blocks per set. As a sophomore in 2019, she averaged 2.94 kills per set, which ranked second on the team, and 1.03 digs per set. She had a team-high 19 kills in a match against No. 1 ranked Baylor on Nov. 26 and had a career-high 30 kills in a five-set match against San Diego State. As a freshman in 2018, she led West Virginia and ranked 10th in the Big 12 in service aces with 24 and finished second on the team in blocks and fifth in kills.
The other transfer Cal Poly added is redshirt sophomore libero/defensive specialist Chen Abramovich from the University of Nebraska. Originally from Kfar Saba, Israel, Abramovich spent two years with the Cornhuskers. As a freshman in 2018, she appeared in one match against Wake Forest before redshirting the 2019 season. During her time there she was named to the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the fall of 2018 and the spring of 2019.
Strong In Conference: Since 2017, the Mustangs are 44-4 in Big West matches. That includes a perfect 16-0 record in 2017, a 15-1 record in 2018, and a 13-3 record in 2019.
Cal Poly won the Big West Conference title in 2017 and 2018 and have won the conference title a total of five times.
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — For the first time in 648 days, the Cal Poly volleyball team will host a home match at Mott Athletics Center when welcoming in Texas A&M on Wednesday.
First serve is set for 7 p.m. Kids 13 and under get free admission. 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 an 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 events at Mott Athletics Center.
Fan interaction with coaches or student-athletes will not be allowed at this time. This includes family members and friends of individuals participating in competition. Hand sanitizing stations will be available and masks will be provided for fans upon request.
For fans not able to attend, live video and audio streaming as well as live stat links will be available and can be found on the schedule page. Daniel Gillman will have the play-by-play call for both video and audio.
Following Wednesday's match against the Aggies (1-2), the Mustangs (1-2) will travel to Salt Lake City, Utah for the University of Utah Classic. There, Cal Poly will face the No. 19 Utes (2-0) and Utah Valley (0-2) on Friday followed by No. 22 San Diego (1-1) on Saturday. Friday's match against No. 19 Utah will be live streamed. A link for that can be found on the schedule page.
Wednesday's match against Texas A&M will be Cal Poly's first home match since Nov. 23, 2019. The Mustangs are still riding the nation's longest active home win streak at 32 consecutive matches.
In its opening weekend of the season this past weekend at the Sun Devil Volleyball Classic in Tempe, Ariz., Cal Poly went 1-2 in its three matches. The Mustangs fell to No. 13 Louisville and Arizona State on Friday before sweeping Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Saturday.
In those three matches, redshirt freshman outside hitter Tommi Stockham led all Mustangs in kills with 29 while also adding four aces. Junior middle blocker Meredith Phillips had 27 kills, hit .321, had 14 blocks and was named to the All-Tournament team. Redshirt senior outside hitter Jamie Stivers had 25 kills, 27 digs, and four aces. Junior setter Avalon DeNecochea had 88 assists, 19 digs, and nine blocks.
Scouting The Opponents: Cal Poly is 5-2 all-time against Texas A&M but this will be the first match between the two programs since 1993. The Aggies are 1-2 so far this year and are coming off an opening weekend in which they fell to Marquette and Hawai'i and beat Fairfield.
No. 19 Utah started the season 2-0 after beating Utah Valley twice while Utah Valley is 0-2 after those losses.
No. 22 San Diego started its season 1-1 after a loss to No. 1 Texas and a win over UTSA.
Cal Poly In the Polls: In the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll, the Mustangs were picked to finish second in the conference. Cal Poly received a total of 111 points and four of the 11 first place votes. They finished just behind defending conference champion Hawai'i, who received 117 points and the other seven first place votes.
Tough Non-Conference Schedule: Cal Poly will put itself to the test this season with its non-conference schedule. The Mustangs have a total of 11 non-conference matches with five of those against teams who are ranked in the AVCA Preseason Top 25.
Those teams are Louisville, Utah, San Diego, Washington, and Pepperdine.
Home Cookin': Cal Poly has won 32 consecutive home matches, the longest active home winning streak in Division I volleyball. The Mustangs have gone undefeated at Mott Athletics Center the last three seasons and have not lost a home match since October 28, 2016.
In 2018 & 2019, the Mustangs had the second-highest average home attendance amongst Division I schools in California, trailing only Stanford.
Setting Up Her Teammates: Junior setter Avalon DeNecochea currently ranks eighth in program history for career assists with 2,120. She needs 466 more assists to move into seventh place.
Her single game career high for assists is 59 which came in a 2019 match against Pepperdine.
Old and New Faces: The Mustangs return eight players from its 2019 roster while welcoming 13 newcomers to the team. Returning for the Mustangs include setter Avalon DeNecochea and middle blocker Meredith Phillips both of whom were First Team All-Big West selections in 2019. DeNecochea, who currently ranks eighth in program history for career assists with 2,032, averaged 9.48 assists per set, 1.62 digs per set, .62 blocks per set, and .29 aces per set in 2019. Phillips averaged 1.80 kills per set and led the team in blocks at .90 per set in 2019.
Other returners for Cal Poly include redshirt senior outside hitter Jamie Stivers outside hitter Nicole Cavote as well as liberos/defensive specialists Lea Ungar and Taylor Rose. Stivers played in the first 10 matches of the season, averaging 2.00 kills per set before suffering a season-ending knee injury during a match against Colorado State. Cavote played in 27 sets in 2019, averaging 1.37 kills per set. Ungar played in all 110 sets in 2019 as a defensive specialist, averaging 2.12 digs per set and was even received a Big West Defensive Player of the Week honor once during the season. Rose appeared in 78 sets in 2019 as a defensive specialist, averaging 1.49 digs per set.
Meanwhile a key player from 2019, Maia Dvoracek, who was an AVCA Third-Team All-American and First Team All-Big West selection will miss the 2021 season due to a knee injury she suffered in the spring.
The 13 newcomers to the team this season include three transfers, three redshirt freshmen who were around the team in 2020, and seven true freshmen. Among those transfers are redshirt freshman outside hitter Tommi Stockham who transferred after one season at Indiana. In her lone season with the Hoosiers in 2020, Stockham played in all 18 matches and led the team in kills with 206. She had 12 matches in which she notched double-digit kill numbers, including a season-high 26 against Iowa and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week following the two-match series against the Hawkeyes. She was also second on the team in digs with 146 and had seven double-doubles on the season.
Another transfer the Mustangs added is junior outside hitter Kristina Jordan who came to Cal Poly after two seasons at West Virginia. With the Mountaineers, she played in 57 matches and averaged 2.20 kills per set and .67 blocks per set. As a sophomore in 2019, she averaged 2.94 kills per set, which ranked second on the team, and 1.03 digs per set. She had a team-high 19 kills in a match against No. 1 ranked Baylor on Nov. 26 and had a career-high 30 kills in a five-set match against San Diego State. As a freshman in 2018, she led West Virginia and ranked 10th in the Big 12 in service aces with 24 and finished second on the team in blocks and fifth in kills.
The other transfer Cal Poly added is redshirt sophomore libero/defensive specialist Chen Abramovich from the University of Nebraska. Originally from Kfar Saba, Israel, Abramovich spent two years with the Cornhuskers. As a freshman in 2018, she appeared in one match against Wake Forest before redshirting the 2019 season. During her time there she was named to the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the fall of 2018 and the spring of 2019.
Strong In Conference: Since 2017, the Mustangs are 44-4 in Big West matches. That includes a perfect 16-0 record in 2017, a 15-1 record in 2018, and a 13-3 record in 2019.
Cal Poly won the Big West Conference title in 2017 and 2018 and have won the conference title a total of five times.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
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