Coming off a huge win in Hawaii, the Mustangs took down UC San Diego 3-1 on Friday, Nov. 10 at home.
The Mustangs (16-10, 10-4 Big West) won the first game of a four-game homestand that will take the team to the end of the regular season.
Cal Poly outlasted UC San Diego and won the match 3-1 in a game dominated by the Cal Poly attack. The Mustangs finished with 53 kills, the fourth most all season and 16 more than the Tritons.
The Mustangs have struggled all season with starting games with energy, but that was no problem tonight as the Mustangs jumped out to a quick 9-4 lead in the first set.
Redshirt sophomore setter Emme Bullis and freshman libero Ella Scott fueled the start with strong serves that helped the Mustangs an early lead, but poor defense allowed the Tritons back in the set.
On match point, redshirt junior outside Tommi Stockham scored the game-winning point on a service ace to close the first set.
In the second set, both teams went back and forth, as neither team led by more than two points. Led by Bullis and Stockham, the team found their groove. The duo combined for eight kills as they would lead the Mustangs to a 25-22 win in the set.
In the third set, the Mustangs took advantage of errors committed by the Tritons, but late in the set, the Tritons fought back and tied the match at 24-24 and subsequently made a five-point comeback to win the set 27-25.
The Mustangs fell behind early in the fourth set due to service and attack errors, but redshirt junior Annabelle Thalken kept the Mustangs close with three kills.
After multiple blocks from the Tritons to build up a 14-9 lead, Stockham recorded a kill and back-to-back service aces, which allowed the Mustangs to take back the lead.
The Mustangs kept their momentum going, and with another service ace from Stockham, they would win the set 25-21.
Stockham ties her season high in kills with 24 as the Mustangs improve to 11-4 in Big West play. The Mustangs will host Long Beach State on Saturday, Nov. 11, who are the current No. 2 team in the Big West.
The Mustang Gameday pregame show will be live at 6 p.m. The show can be watched here.