Cal Poly Volleyball wrapped up its conference opening weekend with a 3-1 victory over CSUN on Sunday.
After opening the weekend with a sweep over CSU Bakersfield, the Mustangs (6-6, 2-0) are sitting at a 2-0 conference record.
“Anytime you play a Big West opponent, you want to make sure you’re giving them all your attention, and I think we did that really well starting with Bakersfield and even better with CSUN,” Head Coach Caroline Walters said.
Close Competition
Although the Mustangs secured the victory, the Matadors (4-8, 0-2) put up a fight as they were in close competition on both offense and defense for the entirety of the match.
CSUN matched the Mustangs in front-row defense, with both teams recording seven blocks.
On top of front-row defense, the Matadors only trailed the Mustangs by two kills and two digs.
“I think CSUN is going to be at the top of our conference,” Walters said. “They’re scrappy in what they do, they’re aggressive on their attacking, and they serve well and pass well.”
Junior libero Elif Hurriyet spearheaded the Mustang defense, leading the team with 12 digs.
“They had a very fast tempo for outsides,” Hurriyet said. “I think this scrappy energy kind of fuels me up too.”
While Hurriyet led the Mustangs on the defensive end, Northridge’s senior libero Paige Sentes recorded one more dig than Hurriyet, helping keep the Matadors in the race.
“The conference games were important, and we played at a very high level, but we still have so much way to go,” Hurriyet said.
The Matadors won the second set, holding the Mustangs to a .133 hitting percentage, their lowest of the night.
However, CSUN could not break .300 percent all match, while the Mustangs used their offense to secure the win, hitting over .380 percent in sets three and four.
Junior outside hitter Kendall Beshear tied her career number of kills in a game and led Cal Poly’s offense with 20. CSUN’s top offensive producer, Hailey Brockway, matched Beshear, also notching 20 kills.
“You have to have patience as an attacker when teams are able to fly around and keep the balls off the ground; you can’t let that frustrate you because if that frustrates you it’s going to affect your decision-making,” Walters said.
Cal Poly ended the match in the fourth set with their offense and defense working in tandem to rally a .400 hitting percentage and their defense holding Northridge to their lowest hitting percentage of the night at .171.
“For us to respond well after splitting the sets 1-1 after the first two sets, I’m just proud of our resiliency and our commitment to staying in the course,” Walters said.
The Mustangs continue their season on the road as they face new Big West conference opponent Sacramento State on Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. at The Nest in Sacramento.
Samantha Roach is a sports reporter for Mustang News and is employed by Cal Poly Athletics to create social media content for the volleyball team.