On Oct. 5, Cal Poly volleyball peeled off its fourth straight victory against UC Davis in a hard-fought four sets at University Credit Union Center in Davis
The Mustangs (10-7, 4-1 Big West) win ties them with the Aggies (9-6, 4-1 Big West) for second place in the conference.
The first set went back and forth between the two teams. Though Davis kept up the pressure with an aggressive offense, the Aggies also committed six attack errors that kept the Mustangs in the game.
The set was tied at 23-23 before Davis made back-to-back kills to take the set.
Following the end of the first set, the Aggies came out of the break swinging, gaining an early 4-0 lead. With the score at 14-12, Davis looked to hold onto their lead and win their second set, but Cal Poly had other plans.
The Mustangs roared back, scoring five unanswered points to take the lead, 17-14. From then on, it was all Cal Poly, as they took advantage of their momentum and won the set 25-18.
In the third set, Davis continued to hurt themselves, with seven attack errors and four service errors. Cal Poly took advantage of the Aggies’ mistakes and won the third set 25-22.
The Mustangs got out to a 6-3 lead early in the fourth set, aided by three kills from redshirt sophomore Lizzy Markovska. Davis refused to back down, however, and was determined to keep pace with Cal Poly.
With the score tied at 25-25, the set would need extra points in order to reach its conclusion. A kill from redshirt junior Tommi Stockham would give Cal Poly the lead. Following the kill, Stockham would secure victory for the Mustangs with a service ace.
Markovska led Cal Poly with 16 kills. Stockham finished with a double-double of 13 kills and 12 digs. Redshirt sophomore Emme Bullis had 41 assists in the game.
Since dropping their first league game to Long Beach State, Cal Poly has won their last four Big West matches to earn their 4-1 league record.
Next, the Mustangs continue their road trip, heading to UC Riverside to take on the Highlanders on Oct. 7, at 4 p.m.