The UCI Women’s Volleyball team (19-10, 12-7) defeated the Cal Poly Mustangs (16-13, 13-6) 3-1 at the Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo on Friday, Nov. 25. UCI executed the match with a steady pace and ended it strong.
The first set was dead even until a kill by redshirt junior middle blocker Kiani Stanton gave UCI a 9-8 lead. The ‘Eaters gained an edge after aces from junior setter Kelly Negron and freshman libero Campbell Jensen put them ahead 11-8. Kills by junior outside hitter Joy Umeh and junior middle blocker Onye Ofoegbu gave the ‘Eaters a 15-10 lead. A block by sophomore opposite Ellen Veargason and Ofoegbu increased the ‘Eaters’ lead to 17-12, causing Cal Poly’s head coach Caroline Walters to call a timeout.
Just two points after the Cal Poly timeout, UCI head coach Ashlie Hain challenged a point made by the Mustangs, contesting that the ball hit out by the Anteaters was touched by a Cal Poly player. After the play was reviewed, it went in the favor of the Mustangs and the score stayed at 17-14, with the ‘Eaters still in the lead.
The ‘Eaters refused to give up any ground as a kill by Umeh gave them a 23-19 lead, forcing Cal Poly to call a timeout in hopes of stopping the Anteaters from winning the set. However, the timeout proved to be little help as a Cal Poly net serve gave UCI the win 25-21.
As set two got underway, the Anteaters continued their aggression, scoring six straight points to take a 6-2 lead and causing a Mustang timeout. After the timeout, Cal Poly took advantage of a few UCI mistakes and shot out to an 8-1 spurt before the Anteaters called timeout with the score at 10-7 in favor of the Mustangs.
UCI regained the lead with kills from sophomore outside hitter Marianna Bertolone, Ofoegbu, and Stanton, and a service ace by Negron, giving them a 17-13 lead and forcing another Cal Poly timeout.
After the timeout, Cal Poly continued to cut into the Anteater lead, eventually tying the game at 24 points. A kill by the Mustangs gave them a 25-24 lead, however, coach Hain immediately challenged the point, claiming that Cal Poly had a net violation on the play. The challenge went in UCI’s favor which switched the score now with the Anteaters leading 25-24, needing one point to end the set. The Anteaters closed out the set with a block by Umeh and Stanton, giving them a 26-24 victory.
As the third set started, it didn’t look good for the Anteaters. Cal Poly gained an early lead and didn’t let up. However, the Anteaters crawled back slowly with kills from freshman outside hitter Kendra MacDonald, Ofoegbu, and Umeh, and blocks from Stanton, Umeh, Ofoegbu, Veargason, and Bertolone. After a couple of Cal Poly errors, the score was 19-17 in favor of the Mustangs.
The Anteaters had the chance to sweep the Mustangs and win the game as sophomore setter Indy DeSmet served an ace, cutting the Mustang’s lead to 24-22. This prompted another Cal Poly timeout. After the timeout, UCI rallied with a kill by Ofoegbu, however, an Anteater service error into the net gave the Mustangs the win, 25-23.
As set four began, there was a burst of energy from the Mustangs. Three straight points from the Mustangs gave them a 14-11 lead, forcing an Anteater timeout. The timeout worked as a kill by Ofoegbu and MacDonald and an ace by DeSmet put UCI a point ahead of Cal Poly, 16-15, causing a Mustangs timeout. However, the timeout didn’t stop the Anteater momentum as they scored four of the next five points, getting ahead 20-16, as Cal Poly was forced to use their final timeout.
The Anteaters scored the final three points on kills by Bertolone and Umeh and a block by Stanton and Umeh, giving them a 25-19 victory. The win gave UCI a 19-10 record overall and put them at 12-7 in the conference, bumping them up to fifth overall in the Big West standings.
Seattle Barron is a Sports Intern for the fall 2022 quarter. She can be reached at skbarron@uci.edu