Mustangs to Play Final Non-Conference Matches This Week

Friday, September 16

Greeley, CO

9 A.M.

Santa Clara

Mustangs to Play Final Non-Conference Matches This Week

9/14/2022 11:57:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

WEEKLY NOTES (PDF)
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly will conclude the non-conference portion of its schedule this week when traveling to Greeley, Colo. for three matches at the Northern Colorado Classic. The Mustangs (0-7) will take on Santa Clara and Northern Colorado Friday at 9 a.m. PT and 5 p.m. PT before concluding the tournament Saturday against Tarleton State at 11 a.m. This weekend's matches will conclude a 10-match stretch on the road to start the season, the program's longest time without a home match since the 2017 season. Last week, the Mustangs had a rigorous schedule, playing four matches, including two against Top-25 ranked teams. Despite losing all four, Cal Poly went to five sets with No. 24 Pepperdine and No. 13 Washington. FOLLOW CAL POLY: Cal Poly's match Friday at 5 p.m. PT against Northern Colorado will be streamed live on ESPN+. Cal Poly's other two matches won't be streamed. However, live stats are available to follow for all three matches. Links for those can be found in the volleyball schedule page of GoPoly.com. SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Santa Clara comes into Friday's match 3-6 on the season. The Broncos are coming off five-set loss to Tulane and have lost their last four matches. The Mustangs lead the all-time series 11-10 and won the last meeting in 2017 by sweep. Northern Colorado is 4-4 so far this season with two of those wins against Big West schools UCSB and CSU Bakersfield. The Bears are coming off a Big Sky title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2021. This will be the third all-time meeting with the Mustangs winning the last meeting in five-sets in 2019. Saturday's match against Tarleton State will be the first-ever meeting with the Texans. Tarleton State transitioned from Division II to Division I in 2020. They are 8-3 so far this year and are coming off a win over Idaho last week. BULLIS EARNS BIG WEST HONOR: After recording double-doubles in all four of Cal Poly's matches last week, redshirt freshman setter Emme Bullis was named the Big West's Setter of the Week. Last week, Bullis averaged 8.47 assists per set and 2.94 digs per set. She also added 14 blocks, six kills, and four aces. She ranks fifth in the Big West in assists at 8.54 per set. Through the first seven matches, she has six double-doubles. BLOCK PARTY: Through the first seven matches of the season, the Mustangs are averaging 2.68 blocks per set which ranks first in the Big West and 28th in the nation. Senior middle blocker Meredith Phillips ranks 13th in the nation in blocks per set at 1.54 per set. RECAPPING THE 2021 SEASON: The 2021 Mustang volleyball team finished the regular season with a 15-16 overall record and 13-7 in the Big West for a third-place finish. It was the sixth straight season the Mustangs have finished in the top three of the Big West standings. Outside hitter Tommi Stockham, who was fourth in the Big West in kills per set at 3.54 was named First Team All-Conference. Middle blocker Meredith Phillips, who led the Mustangs and was fifth in the Big West in blocks and second on the team in kills earned Honorable Mention All-Conference honors. 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, becoming the seventh player in program history to be named to one of the three All-American teams. She was also named 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). Senior setter Avalon DeNecochea, the Mustangs' starting setter the last three seasons, returns for her final season. Coming into the season, she ranks sixth in program history for career assists with 3,187. Last year, she was second in the Big West in assists at 10.31 per set. She was also third on the team in blocks (69), digs (198) and service aces (24) and posted three double-doubles. Back for her second season after playing in 111 of 112 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. She was also fourth on the team in blocks with 52.