Cal Poly Volleyball wrapped up the on-the-road portion of its preseason at the Indiana Invitational, where they fell to the host school and swept Eastern Illinois.
This invitational marks the third and final of the Mustangs’ preseason, putting them at a 4-3 preseason record with three more home preseason matches ahead.
Domination From the Hosts
Cal Poly kicked off the invitational on Thursday with a 3-0 loss against No. 21 University of Indiana.
The Hoosiers (4-2) set the tone early, recording a .700 hitting percentage with 14 kills in the first set.
Indiana’s defense was firing, holding Cal Poly under a .100 hitting percentage in the first two sets, even pushing the Mustangs to zero percent in the second.
The third set gave the Mustangs a glimmer of hope as there were 10 ties, and they recorded their highest hitting percentage of the match at .275.
Captaining the offense with 11 kills was senior outside hitter Emma Fredrick.
Despite Cal Poly’s final push, the match ended in a competitive 28-26 third-set loss.
At the end of the match, Indiana logged a .378 overall hitting percentage compared to Cal Poly’s .149 while also racking up eight aces and seven more blocks than the Mustangs.
Despite Cal Poly’s lack of offensive production, they kept up with the Hoosiers’ defense as they only had two fewer digs than Indiana at 26.
Junior libero Elif Hurriyet spearheaded the defense with 12 total digs.
Offensive Explosion Against Eastern Illinois
The Mustangs flipped the script against Eastern Illinois, earning their third sweep of the season.
Cal Poly’s offense and defense worked in tandem to secure the victory, hitting above .380 in all three sets while recording 34 total digs.
The Panthers (1-6) put up the biggest fight in the first set with a .379 hitting percentage and 14 kills, yet it was not enough to stop the Mustangs.
Cal Poly’s control persisted into the second set as they notched a 0.682 hitting percentage while utilizing their defense to hold Eastern Illinois at zero percent, resulting in a 25-10 finish.
Fredrick continued her offensive lead, tallying 17 kills while junior setter Alexis Haury led the defense with 10 digs.
The Mustangs’ serving also contributed to their win as they brought in eight total aces, two of which were served by junior outside hitter Kendall Beshear to earn the last two points of the match.
The Mustangs continue their preseason at their home opener, the SLO Classic, where they will face Santa Clara University, No. 12 Arizona State University, and No. 7 Stanford Sept. 17-20 in Mott Athletics Center.