Sunday, September 12
Malibu, CA
5 P.M.
2-7
2
at
3
Pepperdine
7-1
1
2
3
4
5
F
Cal Poly
25
8
13
25
14
2
Pepperdine
15
25
25
17
16
3
Team Stats
CP
PEP
Kills
52
66
Errors
16
27
Attempts
151
160
Hitting %
.238
.244
Points
64.0
84.0
Assists
48
63
Aces
2
8
Blocks
10.0
10.0
Game Leaders
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics
Mustangs Come Up Just Short in Five-Set Thriller Against No. 22 Pepperdine
9/12/2021 8:40:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
MALIBU, Calif. — Redshirt outside hitter Jamie Stivers tied her career-high with 17 kills, a total of six Mustangs had five kills or more and it went into extra points in the fifth set, but the Cal Poly volleyball team came up just short of upsetting No. 22 Pepperdine on the road Sunday, falling 3-2 (15-25, 25-8, 25-13, 17-25, 16-14) to the Waves.
Stivers' 17 kills tied her career-high she set while at Duke as a freshman and is her third straight match with double digit kills. She hit .357 and also added seven digs. Junior middle blocker Meredith Phillips had 11 kills, hitting .450 to go with three blocks. Freshman middle blocker Kate Slack tied her season-high with eight kills and set a new season-high with a team-leading six blocks. Junior setter Avalon DeNecochea dished out a season-high 47 assists while freshman libero Peyton Dueck led the team in digs with 19.
The two teams were pretty even in most statistical categories except for a few. Cal Poly (2-7) hit .238 compared to the Waves' (7-1) .244 and both teams had a total of 10 blocks. However, Pepperdine had eight aces on the afternoon while the Mustangs had two.
Cal Poly started the match red-hot, hitting .435 in the first set with just one attack error and held the Waves to a -.029 hitting percentage. They started the set by scoring the first three points and getting out to a 10-3 lead before Pepperdine went on a 4-1 run to cut the lead to 11-7. Up 14-11, the Mustangs scored four straight points to go up 19-11. Leading 20-14, Cal Poly finished the set on a 5-1 run to win it 25-15.
It was a much different story in the second set, this time with Pepperdine hitting .469 compared to Cal Poly flat-lining it at .000. It was close early until, tied at 5, the Waves found their rhythm and went on a 20-3 run to win the set 25-8.
The third set was tight early until, with the Mustangs ahead 5-4, Pepperdine went on a 9-2 run to go up 13-7. Ahead 13-8, the Waves scored three straight points to go up eight and later 21-10. Thanks in part to hitting .394 for the set, Pepperdine took it 25-13.
In the fourth set, Pepperdine took a 6-3 lead before the Mustangs scored seven straight points and an overall run of 11-2 to take a 14-8 lead. Cal Poly's lead was as much as eight at 21-13 before Pepperdine scored three unanswered to cut it to 21-16. However, that's as close as they would get as the Mustangs scored four of the next five points to win the set 25-17 and force a deciding fifth set.
Cal Poly was down 2-1 in the fifth set before scoring four straight points to regain the lead 5-2. After trading small runs, Cal Poly went ahead 12-9 after going on a 3-1 run. The Waves then scored five consecutive points to have match point at 14-12. The Mustangs battled back and scored back-to-back points to tie it. Pepperdine then followed with consecutive kills to win it 16-14.
The Mustangs are now 0-2 this season in five-set matches, losing previously at home to Texas A&M 3-2.
Cal Poly will now prepare for a home-and-home this week with Loyola Marymount University for its final two non-conference matches of the regular season. The Mustangs will play at LMU on Thursday, September 16 at 5 p.m. and then host the Lions on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Mott Athletics Center.
Stivers' 17 kills tied her career-high she set while at Duke as a freshman and is her third straight match with double digit kills. She hit .357 and also added seven digs. Junior middle blocker Meredith Phillips had 11 kills, hitting .450 to go with three blocks. Freshman middle blocker Kate Slack tied her season-high with eight kills and set a new season-high with a team-leading six blocks. Junior setter Avalon DeNecochea dished out a season-high 47 assists while freshman libero Peyton Dueck led the team in digs with 19.
The two teams were pretty even in most statistical categories except for a few. Cal Poly (2-7) hit .238 compared to the Waves' (7-1) .244 and both teams had a total of 10 blocks. However, Pepperdine had eight aces on the afternoon while the Mustangs had two.
Cal Poly started the match red-hot, hitting .435 in the first set with just one attack error and held the Waves to a -.029 hitting percentage. They started the set by scoring the first three points and getting out to a 10-3 lead before Pepperdine went on a 4-1 run to cut the lead to 11-7. Up 14-11, the Mustangs scored four straight points to go up 19-11. Leading 20-14, Cal Poly finished the set on a 5-1 run to win it 25-15.
It was a much different story in the second set, this time with Pepperdine hitting .469 compared to Cal Poly flat-lining it at .000. It was close early until, tied at 5, the Waves found their rhythm and went on a 20-3 run to win the set 25-8.
The third set was tight early until, with the Mustangs ahead 5-4, Pepperdine went on a 9-2 run to go up 13-7. Ahead 13-8, the Waves scored three straight points to go up eight and later 21-10. Thanks in part to hitting .394 for the set, Pepperdine took it 25-13.
In the fourth set, Pepperdine took a 6-3 lead before the Mustangs scored seven straight points and an overall run of 11-2 to take a 14-8 lead. Cal Poly's lead was as much as eight at 21-13 before Pepperdine scored three unanswered to cut it to 21-16. However, that's as close as they would get as the Mustangs scored four of the next five points to win the set 25-17 and force a deciding fifth set.
Cal Poly was down 2-1 in the fifth set before scoring four straight points to regain the lead 5-2. After trading small runs, Cal Poly went ahead 12-9 after going on a 3-1 run. The Waves then scored five consecutive points to have match point at 14-12. The Mustangs battled back and scored back-to-back points to tie it. Pepperdine then followed with consecutive kills to win it 16-14.
The Mustangs are now 0-2 this season in five-set matches, losing previously at home to Texas A&M 3-2.
Cal Poly will now prepare for a home-and-home this week with Loyola Marymount University for its final two non-conference matches of the regular season. The Mustangs will play at LMU on Thursday, September 16 at 5 p.m. and then host the Lions on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Mott Athletics Center.
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