Despite a match-high 20 kills by junior outside hitter Maia Dvoracek, Cal Poly Women’s Volleyball fell to Long Beach State 3-1 on the road on Saturday, Nov. 16. Despite the loss, the Mustangs (18-8, 11-3 Big West) still hold second place in the Big West Conference while Long Beach State (12-15, 9-6) are now in fourth place.
In the opening set, Long Beach outscored Cal Poly 10-5 in the first 15 points. After that run, the Mustangs were only able to get within four points through the remainder of the set. Meanwhile, Long Beach closed out the set with the largest lead of the set at 25-16.
The Mustangs responded in the second set. After being down 6-3 early in the set, the Mustangs scored four straight points to take a 7-6 lead. The Mustangs later extended the lead to 13-10 thanks to a kill by junior middle blocker Madilyn Mercer. After a Long Beach kill to cut the lead to 13-11, the Mustangs went on a 6-1 run to pull ahead at 19-12. However, Long Beach made the set interesting, coming all the way back to tie the game at 21-21. Thanks to two kills by Dvoracek, the Mustangs sealed a 25-23 set win.
After a back-and-forth opening to the third set, the Mustangs found themselves ahead 11-8. Long Beach answered back and to take a 14-11 lead after scoring six unanswered points. Cal Poly tied the game at 15-15, but Long Beach pulled away, ultimately winning the third set 25-17.
With Long Beach needing only one more set to win the match, the Mustangs opened with another 11-8 lead. Just like the third set, Long Beach answered this time with a 4-0 run to take a 12-11 lead. Long Beach never gave up that lead as the Mustangs only pulled within two points for the remainder of the set. Long Beach ultimately closed out the set with another 4-0 run to win the set and match 25-19.
In the match, the Mustangs only hit .142 percent while Long Beach State hit .280 percent behind freshman Tia Chavira’s team-high 16 kills. In addition, Long Beach recorded more digs than the Mustangs 54-40.
For the Mustangs, senior libero Mika Dickson and sophomore Taylor Rose led the team with nine digs each. Meanwhile, sophomore setter Avalon DeNecochea had a team-high 35 assists.
The Mustangs will finish out the regular season inside Mott Athletics Center, taking on UC Irvine on Friday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m and Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Cal Poly currently holds the nation’s longest home winning streak of 30 consecutive matches.