Redshirt senior Tommi Stockham recorded 46 kills, tied for tournament best, in a competitive weekend of volleyball at the Cal Poly Tournament in Mott Athletics Center.
The Mustangs (2-1) kicked off their 2024 campaign by playing host to Sacramento State (0-2), St. Mary’s (0-2) and No. 19 Arkansas (3-0) over the weekend.
Back and forth against Sacramento State
The weekend for the Mustangs started with playing the Sacramento State Hornets on Friday, Aug. 30.
“They’re a scrappy team,” head coach Caroline Walters said. “They’re going to make you work for every point.”
In three of the four sets, Sacramento State picked up the first point to gain momentum and jump out to a lead, but the Mustangs bounced back quickly.
Both teams worked to earn every point, but Cal Poly inevitably won the match. Neither team won any set by more than three points.
Freshman Elif Hurriyet made her collegiate debut, and it was a game she will never forget. Hurriyet led all players in digs with 17 and added on three service aces, including a service ace on match point to win Cal Poly the match.
Sophomore Tess Masingale also had an impressive game from the middle position. She contributed, tying her career high in both kills, 10, and blocks, 6.
Walters wants to find another way to contribute kills, and after Masingale’s performance, she might be the solution.
Sweep over St. Mary’s
With tons of confidence going into the doubleheader on Saturday, Cal Poly beat St. Mary’s Gaels in a clean, 3-0 sweep.
Walters has emphasized that volleyball is a game of mistakes, and usually, the team that makes the fewest mistakes wins the game.
The Mustangs were able to do just that against the Gaels, recording just seven attacking errors on 87 attempts. They finished the game with a .414 hitting percentage.
The Gaels could not say the same thing, as they had 21 attacking errors.
Cal Poly was led by Stockham and redshirt junior Lizzy Markovska, who both had double-digit kills, 14 and 11, respectively.
First ranked matchup of the season
The Mustangs’ last tournament game was among the toughest of their young season as they took on No. 19 Arkansas. Both teams came into the final match of the tournament undefeated.
After jumping out to a commanding lead in the first set, Cal Poly could go up 1-0 behind Masingale and Stockham, who contributed three straight kills to end the set.
Losing the first set lit a fire under the Razorbacks as they stormed back, won the following three sets, and took down Cal Poly 3-1.
Despite the loss, Cal Poly may have answered some questions defensively.
On day one of the tournament, Hurriyet wore the libero jersey, but on day two, junior London Haberfield took over those responsibilities. In the game against Arkansas, Haberfield recorded 23 digs, a team and career high.
Cal Poly will travel for the next four weeks to play in three different tournaments before returning home for Big West Conference play.
Their next tournament starts on Thursday, Sep. 5, when they take on Auburn.
They will be followed by No. 20 Florida State on Friday and Troy on Saturday to wrap up the Auburn-Troy Tournament.