Friday, November 4
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
7 P.M.
vs
CSUN
Mustangs Return Home to Host CSUN, UCSB This Week
11/1/2022 1:09:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
WEEKLY NOTES (PDF)
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — After playing its last four matches on the road, Cal Poly returns to Mott Athletics Center this week for a pair of pivotal Big West matches.
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — After playing its last four matches on the road, Cal Poly returns to Mott Athletics Center this week for a pair of pivotal Big West matches.
The Mustangs (12-10, 9-3 BW), currently tied for third in the Big West standings, host CSUN on Friday before taking on second place UCSB on Saturday. Both matches start at 7 p.m. Saturday's Blue-Green rivalry match will be a Green Out with all fans encouraged to wear green. The first 500 fans into Mott will receive a pair of Cal Poly socks.
Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Daniel Gillman and Harry Kaseff on the call. Links to those as well as live stats can be found the volleyball schedule page.
During the four-match road swing, Cal Poly went 2-2, with wins over UC San Diego and Cal State Fullerton and losses to UC Irvine and Long Beach State. The Mustangs are now one game behind UCSB and two behind Hawai'i in the conference standings.
After strong performances last week, redshirt freshman setter Emme Bullis earned her third Big West Setter of the Week award. For the week, she averaged 9.88 assists per set and 2.88 digs per set. She also had two aces and four blocks with one double-double.
So far this year, Cal Poly ranks top five in the Big West in hitting percentage (.229), opponent hitting percentage (.184), assists per set (11.70), kills per set (12.67), blocks per set (2.46), and aces per set (1.56).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: CSUN has lost five straight matches heading into Friday. However, as a team the Matadors rank second in the Big West in points per set. The Mustangs have won 12 of the last 13 matchups, including a 3-1 win earlier this season.
UCSB won both of its matches via sweep last week to stay in second place. They have won six of their last seven. Middle blocker Deni Wilson leads the Big West in blocks at 1.35 per set. Cal Poly is looking to even the season series after UCSB won the first matchup in Goleta last month, 3-1.
STRAIGHT KILLERS: Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Tommi Stockham and senior right side hitter Maia Dvoracek hold two of the top five spots in the Big West in kills per set. Stockham is averaging 3.73 per set which ranks second in the Big West while Dvoracek is fifth at 3.51 per set.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE CAL POLY STYLE: Three Mustangs have recorded at least five double-doubles on the season. Dvoracek leads the team with 14, redshirt freshman setter Emme Bullis has 11, and Stockham has nine.
BLOCK PARTY: Through the first 22 matches of the season, the Mustangs are third in the Big West and are 50th in the nation in blocks per set, averaging 2.46 per set. Senior middle blocker Meredith Phillips is second in the Big West and ranks 44th in the nation in blocks per set at 1.27. Phillips ranks seventh all-time in program history in career blocks with 407 and needs eight more to move into sixth.
ACE IN THE HOLE: Now with 111 career aces to her name, senior Maia Dvoracek has moved into second all-time in program history with a career aces per set average of .50 and sixth all-time for career aces. She recorded 64 of those in 2019, just two shy of the all-time Cal Poly single-season mark. She also has the program record for aces in a match with 8. She currently leads the Big West and is eighth in the nation in aces per set and is 10th in the nation in total aces.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: Cal Poly put itself to the test in non-conference play with all 10 of their first matches on the road. Five of those were against teams that made the NCAA Tournament in 2021.
PRESEASON COACHES' POLL: Cal Poly was selected to finish third in the Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll. They were picked behind two-time defending champion Hawai'i and last year's second place finisher UC Santa Barbara. The Mustangs last won the Big West title in 2018.
DVORACEK, STOCKHAM NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-BIG WEST TEAM: Cal Poly senior right side hitter Maia Dvoracek and redshirt sophomore outside hitter Tommi Stockham were each named to the eight-player Big West Preseason All-Conference Team.
Stockham is back for her second year with the Mustangs after earning First Team All-Conference honors last season. The outside hitter led the team and was fourth in the Big West in kills at 3.54 per set. That included posting at least 20 kills five times, six double-doubles, and double digit kills in 16 of 20 conference matches.
Dvoracek last played in 2019 due to the 2020 season being cancelled due to the pandemic and was forced to miss the 2021 season while recovering from a severe knee injury. She burst on to the scene in 2019 in her first year as a starter. That year, she led the team and was second in the Big West in kills at 4.25 per set in addition to ranking top-five in the nation in service aces. She was named First Team All-Big West and an AVCA Third Team All-American, becoming the seventh Mustang in program history to be named to one of the three All-American teams.
GUESS WHO'S BACK?: After being forced to miss the 2021 season while she recovered from a serious knee injury, senior outside hitter Maia Dvoracek returns to the Cal Poly lineup this season.
In her first year as a starter in 2019, Dvoracek averaged 4.25 kills per set overall and 5.09 kills per set during conference matches. Her 4.25 kills per set ranked second most in the conference that year. She was also top-five in the nation in service aces per set at .58 and 64 total aces.
She recorded double-digit kills in the final 20 matches of the 2019 season and had 20 or more kills on seven matches, including a career-high 30 against Utah. She also averaged 2.21 digs per set and had seven double-doubles on the year.
She was named an AVCA Third Team All-American as well as First Team All-Big West and AVCA Pacific North All-Region
RETURNING POWER: Although the program lost seven letterwinners from last year's team, eight are back this year for the Mustangs, including five who played in at least 80 sets last season.
In addition to Dvoracek and Stockham, several key pieces return. Senior middle blocker Meredith Phillips, a three-time All-Big West honoree, is back after leading the team last season in blocks (118) and hitting percentage (.310) while also being second in kills (2.40 per set).
Back for her second season after playing in 111 of 112 sets as a freshman last season is redshirt sophomore middle blocker Kate Slack. Last season, Slack was second on the team in blocks with 90 and was sixth in kills at 1.32 per set.
Redshirt sophomore Amy Hiatt will be another key piece off the bench for the Mustangs this season. In her first season of action last year, she played in 86 sets and was third on the team in kills with 228. She had at least 10 kills in 10 matches.
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