Cal Poly volleyball fell in four sets on the road to the Cal State Northridge Matadors on Friday, Nov. 5 inside the Matadome.
The Mustangs (10-14, 8-5 Big West) lost narrowly in three of the four sets 22-25, 21-25 and 23-25 while blowing out the Matadors (5-18, 4-9 Big West) in their lone set victory 25-13.
Early in the first set, the Mustangs led 9-5 before the Matadors went on an 8-1 run to take a 13-10 lead. Cal Poly came back later in the set after four straight points propelled them to an 18-16 lead. The Mustangs still held a two-point 22-20 lead late, but the Matadors recorded two service aces along with five consecutive points to win the first set 25-22.
The second set was back-and-forth throughout. After the Matadors took a 13-9 lead, the Mustangs scored four straight points to even the set at 13-13. The Mustangs yet again held a late 21-20 lead, but the Matadors scored the next five points again to secure the second set 25-21.
After losing the first two sets, Cal Poly bounced back in the third set in a big way. They started off hot as they opened the match with a 7-1 lead. CSUN got as close as 8-5, but the Mustangs led the entire set and held the largest lead of the night of 13 points when they led 24-11. The Mustangs closed the set 25-13 after a kill by freshman outside hitter Amy Hiatt and Cal Poly cut the CSUN match lead 2-1.
However, the Mustangs lost their momentum and dropped the deciding fourth set. The Matadors led for the majority of the set as the only Mustang lead was at 8-7. CSUN controlled a late 23-18 lead. However, the Mustangs scored four straight points to cut the Matador lead to 23-22. The Matadors then scored two of the last three points to take the set 25-23 and the match 3-1.
Although the Mustangs outhit the Matadors .261 to .208, CSUN had ten blocks to Cal Poly’s three, had more service aces and fewer service errors than the Mustangs.
Freshman outside hitter Tommi Stockham stood out for the Mustangs as she recorded a career-high 26 kills and collected her third double-double of the season with 11 digs.
The Mustangs will remain on the road as they face rival UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m inside the Thunderdome.