Broncos Sweep Their Way to Regional Semifinals
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – The Cal Poly Pomona volleyball team set a school record with their 15th sweep of the season on Thursday night, defeating Point Loma 3-0 to advance to the NCAA West Region Semifinals. The Broncos previously had 14 sweeps in three separate seasons, that being 2005, 2018, and 2021. The 3-0 win against Point Loma was also just the second time the Broncos have swept a team in their NCAA Tournament history.
Despite winning 3-0, the victory was anything but easy. In the first set, Point Loma gained separation on a six point run to make the score 11-5 in favor of the Sea Lions. They would maintain a six point lead until the score was 21-15, still in favor of PLNU. Just a few points away from dropping the opening set, the Broncos flipped the script and went on an incredible 10-1 run to win 25-22. Emeline Hudson came up clutch for CPP, collecting four kills in that stretch while the Sea Lions aided with four attack errors. Hudson would finish with five kills, tying her most of the season.
The second set was no different, with PLNU getting out to a 16-9 lead. Senior Kaitlan Tucker turned it into high gear, collecting four kills in a seven point run to tie the game at 16-16. The Sea Lions would then gain momentum back and go on a run of their own, looking to lock up the second set with a lead of 23-18. However, CPP once again made an impressive comeback – this time going on an 8-1 run to win the second set by a score of 26-24.
In the third and final set, the Broncos got out to a quick lead and never let go. Three attack errors quickly gave them a 5-1 lead, then kills by Samantha Campion and Daisy Duke helped bring the score to 14-10. Point Loma helped out the Broncos with 10 attack errors in the set, allowing CPP cruise to the set victory and their 15th sweep of the season.
Kaitlan Tucker had an impressive zero attack errors on 24 swings with 10 kills, swinging at a .417 clip to lead the team. Tucker's .346 hitting percentage on the season is tied for sixth in a season in program history, and her .307 career hitting percentage ranks fourth all-time.
Setter Caitie Mueller also had a big game for the Broncos, dishing out 32 assists while utilizing the entire floor. Six different Broncos recorded at least four kills, while all six had at least 10 attempts.
Up Next
The No. 3 seed Broncos will face No. 2 seed Cal State San Bernardino tomorrow, December 1st, at 7:30 PM in Coussoulis Arena. The Broncos are 0-2 against the Yotes this season, including a loss in the semifinals of the CCAA Tournament. However, CPP eliminated CSUSB from the NCAA West Regionals just last season, and look to make that happen again tomorrow night.
Bronco Bits
- The Broncos are now 8-1 against Point Loma all-time, their only loss coming in 1992.
- Traci Dahl is now 77-34 (.694) as head coach of the Broncos. She is also now 2-2 in NCAA Tournament games.
- The Broncos are 9-19 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 3-3 all-time as the No. 3 seed.
- CPP is 1-2 all-time against Cal State San Bernardino in the NCAA Tournament.
- Thursday night was just the program's second sweep in their NCAA Tournament history. The only other occurrence took place in 2008 against Western Oregon.
- Daisy Duke is now 30 kills away from moving into fourth place all-time in program history.
Latest Women's Volleyball
- CCAA Joins FloSports in Historic Media Rights AgreementFloSports, a leading global sports media company, and the CCAA, the most successful NCAA Division II conference with 156 National Championships, have entered into an exclusive multi-year, seven-figure media rights agreement to begin this Fall.
- 53 Broncos Recognized in CCAA Fall Academic Honor RollCal Poly Pomona saw 53 student-athletes named to the 2023 CCAA Fall Academic Honor Roll on Tuesday, ranking second in the conference behind only Cal State Monterey Bay. A record 551 men and women across the CCAA's 12 member institutions were honored.
- CPP Athletics Launches New WebsiteFor the first time since 2019, the Cal Poly Pomona Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has launched a redesign of BroncoAthletics.com. In partnership with SIDEARM Sports powered by Learfield, the new website went live on Wednesday morning.
- Duke, Campion, and Mueller Named All-AmericansDaisy Duke, Samantha Campion, and Caitie Mueller continued to rack up accolades for the 2023 season, this time earning the most notable individual award of them all: All-American.
- Fall Sports Dominate 2023 Season, Highest Winning Percentage in CPP Athletics HistoryThe five intercollegiate sports that compete during the fall season – men's cross country, women's cross country, men's soccer, women's soccer, and women's volleyball – dominated their respective 2023 seasons, combining for one of the winningest falls in Cal Poly Pomona Athletics history.
- Broncos’ Season Ends With Close Battle in Regional SemifinalsThe Cal Poly Pomona volleyball team fell to Cal State San Bernardino by a score of 3-1 in the NCAA West Region Semifinals on Friday night, ending their 2023 campaign with an overall record of 22-8.
