Junior outside hitter Maia Dvoracek recorded her fourth straight match with double-digit kills as the Cal Poly volleyball team won its third straight match Saturday, sweeping San Jose State (25-18, 25-14, 25-12) to win the inaugural ShareSLO Mustang Challenge.
Dvoracek finished with a match-high 11 kills to go along with nine digs and a match-high seven service aces. Sophomore setter Avalon DeNecochea dished out a match-high 20 assists and added seven digs and three blocks. Senior libero Mika Dickson recorded nine digs and two service aces. Junior outside hitter Jamie Stivers had five kills to go along with nine digs and junior middle blocker had a match-high five blocks.
The Mustangs’ (3-3, 0-0 Big West) held the Spartans (3-3) in check all night. For the match, Cal Poly held San Jose State to an .043 hitting percentage and were better in every statistical category.
The first set was tightly contested in the early goings. Tied at 9, the Mustangs went on a 4-1 run that forced the Spartans to call a timeout. Later, with Cal Poly leading 17-15, used another 4-1 run to take a 21-16 lead. The never looked back from there, going on to win the set 25-18.
The Mustangs came out strong to start the second set, scoring the first seven points. They eventually took as big as a 13-5 lead before San Jose State rattled off four straight points to close it to within four. Cal Poly then responded with a 4-1 run to take a 16-10 lead. It was never close after that as the Mustangs finished the set on a 12-5 run to win it 25-14.
Looking to finish off the sweep, Cal Poly took a 7-3 lead to begin the third set. Up 7-4, the Mustangs went on a 7-2 run to go up by eight points. They never looked back from there, going on the clinch the match with a 25-12 win.
The win extended Cal Poly’s record home win streak to 24 matches.
The Mustangs hit the road for the next few weeks before returning to Mott to begin conference play Sept. 24. Next weekend, they head to Malibu for the Pepperdine Asics Classic to face two Top 25 opponents. Friday, they will play both No. 10 Pitt and Pepperdine and will wrap up the tournament Saturday when they face No. 15 Utah for the second time this season.
- Provided by Cal Poly
