Final scores can be deceiving and Cal Poly’s 3-0 win versus Cal State Fullerton was just that.
The Mustangs and Titans played three extremely tight games on Saturday night, and thanks to a strong defensive effort, Cal Poly prevailed 25-20, 25-22 and 26-24. The victory improved Cal Poly’s record to 9-12 and allowed the team to bounce back from a difficult loss to Long Beach State on Friday night in Mott Gym.
“Long Beach State got better as the match went on,” interim head coach Caroline Walters said. “We fought for every single ball, and we were swinging for the last point in the match.”
Cal Poly’s weekend split against their Southern California rivals leaves them in a three-way tie with UC Santa Barbara and University of Pacific for third place in the Big West with a 4-4 record. The Mustangs are two games behind league-leader Long Beach State. The loss to Long Beach State was the Mustang’s first home defeat of the season, but they are still 5-1 at Mott Gym.
In the first game of a winning match against Fullerton, the Titans jumped out to a 4-1 lead, but Cal Poly was able to recapture momentum by playing aggressive defense at the net. Junior middleblocker Jennifer Keddy led the way with three blocks and Kate Walters was responsible for all nine of Cal Poly’s assists in the first game. Fullerton committed nine errors, while Cal Poly only had three.
“Fullerton is always a scrappy team who gets balls up that no other team does,” Keddy said. “We had to go out just swinging and not get frustrated.”
The second set began just like the first with Fullerton getting an early lead, and the Mustangs having to catch up down 8-5. After a Cal Poly timeout, senior Catie Smith led an improved defensive effort. Smith asserted herself at the net with three blocks and helped Cal Poly battled back to take a 22-21 lead. Fullerton then served into the net, and Cal Poly proceeded to close out the game 25-22.
“There really wasn’t a turning point in tonight’s game,” Keddy said. “Last night’s game really hurt, so everyone came out with a lot of fire tonight so we could get the win.”
The third game was one of the most intense played in Mott Gym this season. There were 10 ties and seven lead changes. Fullerton was on the cusp of winning the set when they took a 24-22 lead, but Cal Poly fought back to take the next four consecutive points and ultimately the victory. The match ended when sophomore Marianne Gera blocked Fullerton’s Leah Maurer at the net.
Junior Molly Pon stepped up and had four kills, and Walters had 15 of her team high 40 assists in the third game.
The third set, however, was the only one in which Cal Poly committed more errors than Fullerton, but this didn’t affect the final score.
The team now looks to improve its 3-6 record, as the next two games are must wins if the Mustangs want to stay in the hunt for a Big West Championship. The team will also need Long Beach State to lose at least three times — if both teams finish with identical records, Long Beach will have the tiebreaker because the 49ers have beat Cal Poly twice this year.
“Long Beach had two losses in the first round of the Big West, and we have four, but stranger things have happened,” Walters said. “Our focus is just taking it one match at a time and getting one victory at a time.”
The players share their coach’s enthusiasm and optimism for the rest of the season.
“Our goal is to win out and try to win the Big West,” Keddy said. “We have a lot of road games, but I think we are into it now and will do better.”
Cal Poly will be in Northern California next weekend to take on the University of Pacific and UC Davis.