Lauren RabainoVictory for the No. 22 Cal Poly volleyball team (10-16, 5-8) Thursday night Mott Gym against longtime rivals UC Santa Barbara, further securing their stronghold in the Big West Conference.
Screaming “Let’s go Poly,” the crowd cheered as the Mustangs overshadowed the Gauchos and took the win with a score of 30-17 in game No. 4.
Senior libero Kristin Jackson received a standing ovation during the second game for scoring 11 more digs to become one of only 25 players in the NCAA Division I history to reach the 2,000 dig plateau, with a record now of 2,017 digs.
“It feels like my hard work really paid off,” Jackson said. “I didn’t really know all this stuff until my senior year started winding down. I’m really proud of myself. When I heard the cheering it was cool and kind of embarrassing.”
Last night was also Jackson’s 400th consecutive game since the start of her 2004 freshman season, which puts her name as the 25th Division I player to appear in 400 consecutive games.
Monster-hitter and junior opposite Kylie Atherstone broke her record of 31 kills in a game to a total of 32 kills Thursday.
Followed by Atherstone was junior outside hitter Ali Waller at 19 kills, and freshman middle blocker Dominique Olowolafe and sophomore outside hitter Ashleigh Bertoni, both with 7 kills Thursday.
The Mustangs gained the lead winning the first game 30-21, and the second 30-23. In the beginning of the third game, both the Mustangs and Gauchos were head-to-head, then the Gauchos managed to move their way up seven points and take the third game 23-30.
“I’m glad that we went to the fourth set because we finally hit our stride and played well in that fourth game,” head coach Jon Stevenson said. “And I think in the first two games we really didn’t play that well. The offense started to go in really well, and you see how much better a whole of a lot is.”
Cal Poly will take on UC Riveside at Riverside Saturday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m.
“I have to throw in the cliché,” Stevenson said. “We have to take one match a time.”