Thursday, October 24
Long Beach, CA
7:00 P.M.
14-6,7-2Big West
3
at
2
Long Beach State
12-7,6-3Big West
1
2
3
4
5
F
Cal Poly
25
20
23
25
15
3
Long Beach St.
18
25
25
23
7
2
Team Stats
CPO
LBSU
Kills
59
58
Errors
25
30
Attempts
170
185
Hitting %
.200
.151
Points
76.0
78.0
Assists
54
51
Aces
6
4
Blocks
11
16
Game Leaders
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics
Cal Poly Complete Comeback Over Long Beach State in 5-Set Thriller
10/24/2024 10:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
LONG BEACH, Calif. — The Mustangs tied their highest single-game total blocks mark of the season once again while overcoming a 2-1 Long Beach State set lead to win a five-set nail-biter (25-18, 20-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-7) and gain sole possession of second place in the conference.
Long Beach State played true to its defensive style and held Cal Poly to a .200 team hitting percentage but the Mustangs played an even better shutdown game as the Beach hit just .151 while Cal Poly recorded 11 total blocks on the evening.
Led by Breklyn Pulling with 14 kills and 4 block assists, four Mustangs totaled kills in the double-digits, which included Tommi Stockham's double-double of 13 kills and 11 digs. In helping Pulling, Stockham, Kendall Beshear (12 kills), and Amy Hiatt (11 kills and 4 block assists), Emme Bullis supplied at least 50 assists for the fourth time this season. Elif Hurriyet set a new career-high of 28 digs, which is tied for the sixth-most in a single Big West match of 2024.
Cal Poly (14-6, 7-2 BWC) and Long Beach State traded points back-and-forth to a 9-9 tie before the Mustangs found the spark they needed via Stockham's diving desperation save. After having been separated by only two points at most during the early part of the frame, Stockham's heroics helped unleash a 16-9 run for the Mustangs to take the opening set with relative ease.
For the second set, Long Beach State regrouped and surged to an early 7-3 lead, which the Mustangs fought against and came within a couple of points at various moments but were still down 15-12 at the media timeout. The Beach carried that momentum through the rest of the set while holding Cal Poly to a sub-.200 hitting percentage for the second consecutive frame. The Mustangs were not able to tie or force a lead change as LBSU secured a 25-20 set-two victory.
The Mustangs struggled to recover coming out of the break as Long Beach State opened up the third set with a 6-1 lead, forcing a Cal Poly timeout early. Led by Kendall Beshear in her first appearance since Oct. 11 due to a minor injury, the Mustangs improved greatly from a hitting perspective in the third. However, Long Beach State fended off Cal Poly to squeak out a tight 25-23 victory and moved into the 2-1 set lead.
Cal Poly rocketed to a 7-2 start of its own in the fourth set after Long Beach State held the lead for the entirety of the second and third sets. The persistent Beach squad rescued the 12-12 tie after a 9-5 run from the hot Mustang start. Amy Hiatt's solid night continued as she combined with Breklyn Pulling for multiple kills in helping Cal Poly get back ahead.
Down to the wire, the Beach came back to tie the match once again at 21-21 despite Cal Poly leading by a handful just a few points earlier. A 15-plus minute challenge review about a ball battled for directly over the net gave both teams a rest, Cal Poly the point, and the Mustangs continued to a 25-23 set win to force the tiebreaker.
After jumping out to an early 5-1 lead in the fifth set, Cal Poly never relented and leaned on Stockham and Pulling for eight of the nine kills during the Mustangs' 15-7 set and match winner.
Cal Poly is back home this weekend as UC San Diego comes to San Luis Obispo for a Saturday matinee matchup.
Long Beach State played true to its defensive style and held Cal Poly to a .200 team hitting percentage but the Mustangs played an even better shutdown game as the Beach hit just .151 while Cal Poly recorded 11 total blocks on the evening.
Led by Breklyn Pulling with 14 kills and 4 block assists, four Mustangs totaled kills in the double-digits, which included Tommi Stockham's double-double of 13 kills and 11 digs. In helping Pulling, Stockham, Kendall Beshear (12 kills), and Amy Hiatt (11 kills and 4 block assists), Emme Bullis supplied at least 50 assists for the fourth time this season. Elif Hurriyet set a new career-high of 28 digs, which is tied for the sixth-most in a single Big West match of 2024.
Cal Poly (14-6, 7-2 BWC) and Long Beach State traded points back-and-forth to a 9-9 tie before the Mustangs found the spark they needed via Stockham's diving desperation save. After having been separated by only two points at most during the early part of the frame, Stockham's heroics helped unleash a 16-9 run for the Mustangs to take the opening set with relative ease.
For the second set, Long Beach State regrouped and surged to an early 7-3 lead, which the Mustangs fought against and came within a couple of points at various moments but were still down 15-12 at the media timeout. The Beach carried that momentum through the rest of the set while holding Cal Poly to a sub-.200 hitting percentage for the second consecutive frame. The Mustangs were not able to tie or force a lead change as LBSU secured a 25-20 set-two victory.
The Mustangs struggled to recover coming out of the break as Long Beach State opened up the third set with a 6-1 lead, forcing a Cal Poly timeout early. Led by Kendall Beshear in her first appearance since Oct. 11 due to a minor injury, the Mustangs improved greatly from a hitting perspective in the third. However, Long Beach State fended off Cal Poly to squeak out a tight 25-23 victory and moved into the 2-1 set lead.
Cal Poly rocketed to a 7-2 start of its own in the fourth set after Long Beach State held the lead for the entirety of the second and third sets. The persistent Beach squad rescued the 12-12 tie after a 9-5 run from the hot Mustang start. Amy Hiatt's solid night continued as she combined with Breklyn Pulling for multiple kills in helping Cal Poly get back ahead.
Down to the wire, the Beach came back to tie the match once again at 21-21 despite Cal Poly leading by a handful just a few points earlier. A 15-plus minute challenge review about a ball battled for directly over the net gave both teams a rest, Cal Poly the point, and the Mustangs continued to a 25-23 set win to force the tiebreaker.
After jumping out to an early 5-1 lead in the fifth set, Cal Poly never relented and leaned on Stockham and Pulling for eight of the nine kills during the Mustangs' 15-7 set and match winner.
Cal Poly is back home this weekend as UC San Diego comes to San Luis Obispo for a Saturday matinee matchup.
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