The Cal Poly volleyball team returns to the central coast to open both a five-match homestand and the second-annual Mission Inn of Pismo Beach Invitational, scheduled for Sept. 18-19 in Mott Gym. Cal Poly (2-8), returning from its season-opening, 18-day, 10-match road trip, opens tournament action Friday, Sept. 18 against Seattle (3-7) at 10 a.m. before facing Santa Clara (5-3) at 7:30 p.m. The Mustangs complete their portion of the competition Saturday against former Big West Conference foe Idaho (3-4) at 7 p.m. UC Santa Barbara (6-2) finalizes the field.
INVITATIONAL REWIND: In front of 2,533 spectators – the fourth-largest volleyball crowd in Mott Gym history – Cal Poly capped opening-day action of the 2008 Mission Inn of Pismo Beach Invitational on Sept. 5 with a three-set loss against then-No. 2 and eventual NCAA Tournament national semifinalist Nebraska. The defeat also doubled as the first home sweep suffered by the Mustangs under Jon Stevenson. Cal Poly bookended its loss to Nebraska with sweeps of Tulane and Northeastern. Below are the complete results from the first Mission Inn of Pismo Beach Invitational.
FRANKS ABOUT KILLS: She may rank third among Mustangs with 2.49 kills per set, but freshman opposite Holly Franks has been Cal Poly’s most-consistent hitter of late. Highlighted by a career-high 17-kill performance and a .375 hitting percentage during Cal Poly’s initial victory of the season against Weber State Sept. 5, Franks has recorded at least nine kills in five of the program’s previous six matches.
BAPTSIM BY FIRE: Featuring, arguably, the youngest offensive attack in Division I volleyball, four of Cal Poly’s top-five hitters are freshman. Aside from Franks, first-year outside hitters Megan McConnell and Molly Pon have emerged as Cal Poly’s leading attacking options. McConnell, who enters Mission Inn of Pismo Beach Invitational play with a team-leading 2.91 kills per set, has reached double-digit kill figures in Cal Poly’s last six matches. Pon, highlighted by a career-high 17-kill performance that keyed Cal Poly’s four-set victory against Weber State Sept. 5, has reached the double-digit kill mark in four matches and owns a 2.53 per-set mark.
OLOWOLAFE QUICKLY IN FORM: Junior Dominique enters the Mission Inn of Pismo Beach Invitational averaging a career-high 2.13 kills per set and the middle blocker is once again showcasing the hitting efficiency that helped her earn All-Big West first team praise a year ago. A team-leading .316 hitting percentage that ranks seventh among Big West players this season has pushed Olowolafe’s career mark to an even .300 figure that remains the fifth-highest mark in program history. Olowolafe, having topped out with a season-high .500 (13 kills, one error, 24 attempts) hitting percentage against then-No. 23 Kansas State Sept. 5, has hit better than .312 on six occasions this season.
FAMILIAR FOE: Santa Clara, Cal Poly’s Friday opponent, featured current Mustang assistant coach Caroline Walters in its lineup when the program reached the NCAA Tournament national semifinals for the first time in 2005. A three-time All-West Coast honorable mention selection, the conference’s all-time leader with 1,932 career digs and Santa Clara’s career leader with a 4.59 assists-per-set average, Walters appeared in 421 of a possible 428 sets during her career.
MUSTANGS AGAIN FEATURE STOUT SCHEDULE: In what has become a hallmark of Jon Stevenson’s five-year tenure, Cal Poly is again contesting one of the nation’s most-challenging schedules in 2009. Four of Cal Poly’s initial 10 matches occurred against programs ranked in the AVCA Division I Top 25 Poll while a pair conference contests against No. 18 UC Irvine also loom. As of Sept. 14, Cal Poly’s schedule included 12 total matches against teams either ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA poll. Excluding NCAA Tournament matches, Cal Poly is 5-16 against nationally ranked programs under Stevenson.